Chesapeake Energy

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Chesapeake Energy is an Oklahoma-based oil and gas company. It is involved in the controversial practice of fracking for methane gas in the Northeastern U.S. in the Marcellus Shale region. Chesapeake Energy is "the second largest producer of methane gas, a Top 20 producer of fracking liquids and the most active driller of new wells in the U.S." Though lauded as an environmentally-friendly alternative to coal, fracking for gas has been linked to depleting drinking water resources of local communities and polluting the wells of the people living around drill sites. According to a 2010 article in Vanity Fair, "as use of the technique (fracking) has spread, it has been followed by incidents of water contamination and environmental degradation, and even devastating health problems." And according to data released to the EPA, Halliburton, a major supplier of fracking fluid, admitted using 807,000 gallons of diesel-based chemicals in its fluids, in violation of an agreement drillers had with the EPA.

Background

Chesapeake Energy, and its wholly-owned subsidiary Chesapeake Appalachia LLC headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia, has 1.73 million net acres under lease in the Marcellus shale area and is drilling in 14 states. According to the Common Cause "Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets" report, Chesapeake has 519 well permits in Pennsylvania. Its CEO was ranked the 3rd highest paid CEO in the U.S., with an annual compensation of $116.89 million. The company has been reporting annual revenues of between $7.6 billion and $11.3 billion a year over the past four years. Chesapeake Energy has had numerous lawsuits filed against them for spoiling drinking water by contaminating it with methane gas, cheating landowners out of royalties and evading investors. Chesapeake Energy and its executives have also been very active in making partisan political donations, predominantly in favor of Republicans. This company, headquartered in Oklahoma City, has invested significant funds in elections in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, states with large shale deposits, and its CEO was a major spender in the election of the new governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett.

At the 2011 winter meeting for the Independent Oil and Gas Association, McClendon stated that Chesapeake planned on investing some $40-50 billion in methane gas drilling in West Virginia in the next few decades. He also stated that Chesapeake had already spent some $600 million in capital investment since 2008 in the state. Fearing the possibility of drilling in West Virginia, the environmental advocacy group, the Southern Environmental Law Center, placed George Washington National Forest on its top 10 endangered places in the Southeast list for 2011, saying that the forest's water, wildlife and other resources could be harmed by fracking.

In February 2012, the company said it had developed a new method for recycling wastewater from fracking. The recycled water will be mixed with fresh water for future fracking operations. Chesapeake requires about 5.8 million gallons of water to fracture the average well, plus sand and toxic chemicals. About 10 percent of that liquid must be pumped from the well before production can begin.

Chesapeake has seven drilling rigs in Ohio and one in western Pennsylvania. It expects to have 20 rigs in Ohio by late 2012 and 30 by 2014. The company said its pre-drilling surveys had detected potentially troublesome levels of methane gas in drinking water in Plain and Osnaburg townships in Stark County. Evidence of the problem was also detected in Pike and Sandy townships.

Chesapeake Energy

Type	Gas and Oil
Founded	1989
Headquarters	Oklahoma City, OK
Number of locations	Towanda, Pennsylvania; Charleston, West Virginia; Oklahoma City, OK;
Revenue	9.4 billion

Chesapeake to Host EPA In Study of Fracking Risk

In January 2013 it was reported Chesapeake Energy Corp. agreed to let the Environmental Protection Agency conduct extensive tests at one of its drilling sites as part of an investigation into the safety of fracking. The testing, which will involve water sampling before and after drilling takes place, will serve as a cornerstone of a year-long EPA study to determine whether the process known as fracking poses a risk to water supplies.

Natural gas company, Range Resources also may allow the EPA to work at one of its drilling sites, although an agreement has been held up by researcher liability concerns at a drilling site, a Range Resources spokesman said.

Partisan Political Activity

Although Chesapeake Energy has donated to campaigns on both sides of the aisle, the majority of its political donations has gone to pro-fracking Republicans. 2010 was the biggest year in gas and oil political contributions by corporations hoping to encourage lawmakers to continue with the lax restrictions surrounding methane gas drilling. Nowhere was this seen more than in Pennsylvania, where the majority of the Macellus Shale area lies. According to MarcellusMoney.org, a project of Common Cause PA and Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, Chesapeake Energy raised $89,390 for Pennsylvania candidates during the 2009-2010 election season.

According to the Common Cause "Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets" report, Chesapeake gave $377,319 in lobbying cash to PA politicians from 2007-2009. Furthermore, in 2010, Chesapeake gave $89,390 in campaign contributions to various politicians running for office in PA state elections. This included some $11,000 to Governor Tom Corbett, who is a known ally of the fracking industry in Pennsylvania. $10,500 went to his opponent, Democrat Dan Onorato.

Corporate Political Action Committee

Since its creation in 2004, Chesapeake's PAC has donated major money to candidates, front group PACs and committees. Since the 2004 election year, Chesapeake's PAC has spent $1.46 million.

Here are some of the politicians and PACs that Chesapeake donated to:

• $10,000 to Mary Landrieu (D-LA) who is on the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
• $16,000 to John McCain's presidential campaign
• $15,000 to Dan Boren (D-OK) who is co-chair of the Natural Gas Caucus
• $10,000 to Tom Cole (R-OK) who authored The Natural Gas Production Act in 2008
• $10,000 to Scott Murphy (D-NY)
• $10,000 to Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) who is an investor in Clean Energy Fuels Corp. and sponsored the California Renewable Energy & Clean Alternative Fuel Act in California
• $15,000 to John Sullivan (R-OK) who is a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. He was also a past member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
• 10,000 to Tom Coburn (R-OK)
• $7,500 to Joe Manchin (D-WV) who was Governor of West Virginia and a supporter of methane gas drilling over coal mining
• $7,000 to Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) who is on the U.S. Senate Energy Committee
• $15,000 to the National Republican Committee
• 15,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

Political Donations by Company Execs

Senior management has donated large amounts of money to politicians, front group PACs and the Republican National Committee.

• Aubrey McClendon - CEO and President - $530,550

"The Republican State Leadership Committee, a newly-formed PAC that raised more than $9 million over the previous three years - the bulk of it from corporations, prohibited by state law from contributing to Pennsylvania candidates - said that most of the Corbett money came from McClendon, who had donated $450,000 to the RSLC in separate donations, around the date it was sending money to Corbett. As of last month, Chesapeake had obtained 839 Marcellus drilling permits in Pennsylvania, more than any other company, and had drilled at 126 sites, making it the second-biggest operator after Talisman Energy of Alberta, Canada, according to the state's Department of Environmental Protection"

• Martha A. Burger - Senior Vice President of Human and Corporate Resources - $38,500
• Henry J. Hood - Senior Vice President of Land and Legal and General Counsel - $31,000
• Stephen W. Miller - Senior Vice President of Drilling - $30,300
• Michael A. Johnson - Senior Vice President of Accounting, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer - $29,500
• Steven Dixon - Executive Vice President of Operations and Geosciences and COO - $26,500
• Cathy L. Tompkins - Senior Vice President of Information Technology - $25,360
• Douglas Jacobson - Executive Vice President of Acquisitions and Divestitures - $20,000
• James C. Johnson - Senior Vice President of Energy Marketing - $11,000
• Jeffrey L. Mobley - Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Research - $7,704
• Jennifer M. Grigsby - Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Corporate Secretary - $6,669

Lobbying

In 2009, Chesapeake Energy spent $1.74 million on lobbying. This was done through their PAC, as well as lobbying firms Integrated Solutions Group ($300,000), Chad Bradley & Assoc. ($210,000) and Vinson & Elkins ($190,000).

In 2010, Chesapeake upped their lobbying costs to $2.8 million. The Duberstein Group ($100,000) was added to their lobbyist list, as was C2E2 Strategies ($80,000) and Delta Strategy Group ($20,000). Integrated Solutions Group ($150,000) and Chad Bradley & Assoc. ($245,000) rounded out the list.

Chesapeake also uses the same lobbyist as Cabot Oil and Gas, Peter Gleason of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Gates.

Support for the American Legislative Exchange Council

Chesapeake was a "Director" level sponsor of 2011 American Legislative Exchange Council Annual Conference, which in 2010, equated to $10,000.

About ALEC

ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our PRWatch.org site.

Front Groups

Chesapeake Energy was a supporter of several special interest groups that push for expanded drilling rights and limited or no regulation of fracking.

Dave Spigelmyer, Vice President of Government Relations, is on the Board of Directors of West Virginia Natural Oil and Gas Association, Spigelmyer is also on the Executive Committee of the Marcellus Shale CoalitionDirector Merrill Miller serves on the board of The National Petroleum Council, Director Richard K. Davidson is a former member on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council in the Department of Homeland Security, Thomas S. Price (Divisional Senior VP) is on the Executive Committee of of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, Thomas Price is also on the Board of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association, Ty Peck and Megan Woodworth of Chesapeake are both Directors of the Natural Gas and Energy Association of Oklahoma, Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission and Energy in Depth

Chesapeake Energy owns the domain for Truthlandmovie.com, a pro-fracking documentary response to Gasland promoted by the oil and natural gas industry’s PR arm, Energy In Depth.

Taxes and subsidies

By 2012, Chesapeake Energy made $5.5 billion in pretax profits since its founding 23 years ago, yet only paid about 1 percent ($53 million) of the cumulative pretax profits during that period. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Chesapeake and other U.S. oil and gas producers have been drawing upon a 1916 rule that allows them to expense “intangible drilling costs,” enabling them to postpone income taxes in recognition of the "inherent risk" of drilling wells that may turn out to be dry, which Bloomberg said "may be outdated for companies such as Chesapeake" due to fracking technologies.

Claimed Violations of Safety Rules or Other Laws

Health and Safety Violations Alleged

2015: In 2015 a Pennsylvania State University study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that fracking had contaminated three drinking wells in Bradford. A chemical, 2-Butoxyethanol, found in drilling fluid commonly used for fracking Marcellus Shale. The scientists authors of the study believe the drinking water contamination came from a 2009 leaking tank or poor well integrity. The research used well water gathered on behalf of three families which sued Chesapeake Energy, after the company drilled faulty wells near them in 2009.

2013: A 2015 NDRC report claims Chesapeake Energy earned the most fracking violations of all the operators from 2008 to 2013 in Pennsylvania with 589 violations for 2,618 wells.

Chesapeake Energy earned the second highest fracking violations of all the operators from 2008 to 2013 in West Virginia with 80 violations for 371 wells.

2012: In October, Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s Marcellus drilling subsidiary Chesapeake Appalachia LLC pleaded guilty to three criminal violations of the federal Clean Water Act for burying a waterfall in West Virginia under 60 tons of gravel to clear a path for fracking trucks in 2008. The company agreed to pay a $600,000 fine and will be on probation and "under supervision of the court" for two years. The parties also agreed that separate violations for impoundments in Marshall and Wetzel counties in WV would be addressed with civil penalties instead of criminal charges. Those violations occurred at three other sites in 2008, 2009, and 2010, court records show.

2012: In June, Chesapeake Energy settled a lawsuit filed by three families in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, over water contamination. The total payment to the plaintiffs was $1.6 million. The families' attorneys said gas extraction and drilling activities by Chesapeake "contaminated the property and groundwater of these Bradford County residents with excess methane levels that required one family to evacuate their home for two weeks." Following a 2010 investigation by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Chesapeake was fined $900,000 for contaminating private water supplies in Bradford County due to "improper well casing and cementing in shallow zones." Chesapeake has maintained that the conclusions are clouded by the lack of pre-drill water testing.

2011: In April 2011, near Towanda, Pa., seven families were evacuated after about 10,000 gallons of wastewater contaminated an agricultural field and a stream of Towanda Creek that flows into the Susquehanna River, the result of an equipment failure, according to the Bradford County Emergency Management Agency.

Chesapeake Energy lost control of a well during a hydraulic fracturing.

In Aug. 2011, Natural Gas Watch acquired documents through the Freedom of Information Act from the Environmental Protection Agency showed that it had "pumped more than 14 million gallons of fluid to a depth of more than 2 miles at a natural gas well in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, before a blowout sent tens of thousands of gallons of the toxic liquid coursing over fertile farmland and into a nearby creek." The documents also showed that "the fluid Chesapeake used in operations at the well contained more than two dozen chemicals, including methanol, glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde, 2-butoxyethanol and hydrocloric acid. They also specify the amounts used and detail the role each substance played in the hydraulic fracturing process...Chesapeake tried to block the documents’ release, claiming that both were protected from release under the FOIA rules because they constituted proprietary and confidential business information. "

Chesapeake Energy paid $215,000 after multiple warnings from state inspectors about erosion problems at a well site in the Pine Creek watershed in Potter County in the northern Pennsylvania.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that during a March 2011 rain and snow melt created a muddy runoff from the well site. The borough of Galeton was forced to close one of its public water supplies for three months after the runoff clogged its filters.

In 2011, Chesapeake violated Pennsylvania’s erosion and sediment control requirement to prevent water pollution 35 times. This was more than any other company in the state.

An explosion in February sparked a large fire and injured three workers in Independence Township, Washington County, PA. The fire started at a site operated by Chesapeake Appalachia LLC, a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy. Chesapeake Energy said the incident was not related to fracking and identified the injured workers as Russell Schoolcraft of Clover, W.Va., Richard Lancaster of Sardis, Ohio, and Frank Lancaster of New Martinsville, W.Va.

2010:" In September, the Pennsylvania DEP began investigating the source of stray methane gas that was detected bubbling from the Susquehanna River and in six private water wells in Bradford County. The DEP believes that nearby wells drilled by Chesapeake Energy are the source of the problem.
April: The "Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation revoked Chesapeake Energy’s road use permit for Route 1007 in Bradford County. Chesapeake failed to respond to two notices of unsafe conditions and thus violated their agreement to proactively monitor conditions and repair the road when needed. In March, PennDOT revoked their permit for Route 1001 for the same reasons."
March: Chesapeake was fined $20,000 for withdrawing more water from Bradford and Sullivan County public water supplies than its permits allowed. "Under a permit that Chesapeake had obtained from the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, Chesapeake was allowed to withdraw no more than 100,000 gallons per day from the Troy Borough's public water supply, no more than 300,000 gallons per day from Aqua Pennsylvania, and no more than 40,000 gallons per day from the Dushore Water Authority."
January: Chesapeake Energy was fined $25,000 when police in Towanda, Pennsylvania discovered a service truck that was more than 41-tons over the weight limit for the road it was on. "This is the latest of numerous examples of state troopers finding overweight natural gas trucks inflicting damage on area roads."
September: The Louisiana DEP announced a "pending settlement with Chesapeake Energy and its contractor Schlumberger Technology that would require the companies to pay $22,000 each for the death of 17 heads of cattle near a gas drilling site in Louisiana. The DEP confirmed that high levels of potassium chloride were found in and adjacent to a cow pasture. Findings indicated that a “milky white substance” flowed from the natural gas well and pooled into a low area in the pasture that was accessible to the cows. People who witnessed the deaths reported that the cows appeared to be suffering a slow, painful death, with many bellowing loudly, bleeding and foaming at the mouth."

2009: Chesapeake Energy, along with Schlumberger Technology Corp., were both fined $15,557 for a fracking fluids spill in February. Chesapeake notified the DEP that a "21,000-gallon tank containing 36 percent hydrochloric acid was leaking. When a DEP inspector arrived at the site, it was determined that the tank had two leaks and was losing about 7.5 gallons per hour of hydrochloric acid, the DEP said." About 126 tons of contaminated soil was excavated, and more than 13,800 gallons of a hydrochloric acid and water mixture were removed from the well site in Bradford County, Pennsylvania.

In 2009, the DEP fined Chesapeake $3,925 for the non-permitted discharge of top-hole water.

The Pennsylvania DEP records show that between 2008 - 2011 (as of February), Chesapeake had 168 Administrative and Health and Environmental Safety violations. Some of these violations were for: "Failure to manage residual waste"; "Potential pollution of the waters of the Commonwealth"; Spilled Sodium Hypochlorite"; "Failure to minimize accelerated erosion"; Orange liquid seeping out from underneath heat treater"; "Pit leak that showed soil contained hydraulic fracturing chemicals". The majority of these violations took place in Bradford, Sullivan and Susquehanna Counties.

Lawsuits

2015: In December 2015 Pennsylvania's Attorney General filled a lawsuit against Chesapeake over fracking leases with landowners. The lawsuit claimed Chesapeake underpaid landowners who leased land for hydraulic fracturing.

2015: Chesapeake filled a lawsuit in February against its former CEO, Aubrey McClendon. Chesapeake alleged McLendon had his assistant print out highly sensitive maps of oil and gas prospects in Ohio’s natural-gas-rich Utica shale formations, and he e-mailed more proprietary and valuable information to his private account. McClendon then set up a new operation–American Energy Partners in Oklahoma City.

2011: In March a lawsuit filed in Texas state district court by Dallas-based ICC Energy Corp. claimed that "Chesapeake reneged on a commitment to partner with ICC Energy on the marketing of gas from the Barnett Shale at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The lawsuit includes claims of discrimination, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, misrepresentation, and fraud against Chesapeake as well as several company subsidiaries and individuals." ICC Energy says that Chesapeake approached them in May 2006 about a partnership on a bid for an oil and gas lease covering 18,000 acres of land owned by D/FW Airport and part of the Barnett Shale, the second-largest on-shore domestic methane gas field in the United States. "ICC Energy is the largest African-American-owned marketer of natural gas in Texas."
January: Continental Resources filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Chesapeake Energy for failing to complete a $28 million land deal in Michigan. The lawsuit was filed in Garfield County, Oklahoma. "The unconsummated deal was struck in June after an e-mail exchange between Continental CEO Harold Hamm and Chesapeake CEO Aubrey K. McClendon. The lawsuit contends Continental passed up opportunities with other potential buyers when it agreed to sell its Michigan acreage to Chesapeake." Continental is seeking damages in excess of $75,000. Apparently, "Chesapeake has delayed or refused to complete other purchases in that region as well, the lawsuit states."

2010: Pennsylvania residents filed a lawsuit against Chesapeake and Nomac Drilling contending "that a natural gas drilling operation established in 2009 in Terry Township, Bradford County, contaminated a ground well that provided the main water supply to the plaintiffs' residence. The lawsuit contends that methane, ethane, barium and other pollutants and substances were discharged as a result of the gas well drilling operation, and contaminated the ground and aquifer near the plaintiffs' home and into the ground water well used as a water supply." The lawsuit says that residents have suffered financial damage to their homes "and the water and premises are contaminated with dangerously high and explosive levels of methane, causing great diminution of value to their home and real property." The plaintiffs demanded their case be heard before a judge and jury and are seeking "a permanent injunction, barring Chesapeake and its affiliates from any future gas drilling in the immediate area of their home, compensation for any past and future medical costs, as well as damages for the diminution of their property."
September: A woman from Texas filed a federal class-action lawsuit against subsidiaries of Chesapeake Energy Corp. "Robyn Coffey says the company shortchanged royalty owners in the methane gas-rich Barnett Shale. She says Chesapeake owes more than $5 million to royalty owners because of the way the company has calculated payments to them. The lawsuit claims instead of paying royalty owners based on the full market value of natural gas, the company transferd the gas to Chesapeake Energy at a "fictitious price" that is substantially less than the price obtained when Chesapeake sells the gas to a 'bona fide third-party purchaser.'"

2009: In February an investor of Chesapeake Energy Corporation filed a lawsuit seeking class action status in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on "behalf of those who purchased Chesapeake Energy Corporation stock pursuant to the registration statement and prospectus (collectively, the "Registration Statement") filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with Chesapeake's July 2008 secondary offering." The lawsuit claims that Chesapeake "violated federal securities laws. Specifically, the Registration Statement issued in connection with the Offering was materially false because it failed to disclose the following: (i) Chesapeake's exposure to natural gas price declines had not been adequately limited by Chesapeake's hedging actions prior to the Offering; (ii) that Chesapeake had entered into hedging contracts with Lehman Brothers, an underwriter in the offering, though based on Lehman Brothers' rapidly declining financial condition, it would be unable to fulfill its financial commitment; (iii) prior to the Offering, Chesapeake's aggressive hedging activities had been significantly running up the price of natural gas and Chesapeake's stock price; (iv) Chesapeake's lease brokers, had been aggressively bidding up the prices Chesapeake was obligated to pay in leases and royalty agreements; and (v) Chesapeake was failing to write down impaired goodwill on the assets it was acquiring."

Revenue and Profits

2010

Revenue: $9.36 billion
Gross Profit: $4.76 billion

2009

Revenue: $7.7 billion
Gross Profit: $4.22 billion

2008

Revenue: $11.63 billion
Gross Profit: $6.8 billion

2007

Revenue: $7.8 billion
Gross Income: $4.9 billion

2006

Revenue: $7.33 billion
Gross Income: $5.1 billion

Executives and Annual Compensation

• CEO Aubrey McClendon: $116.89 million in total compensation and is #3 on Forbes highest-paid CEOs list.
• Executive Vice President of Operations and Geosciences and COO Steven C. Dixon: $4.6 million
• Executive Vice President of Acquisitions and Divestitures: $4.4 million

The average employee at Chesapeake makes $114,084 a year.

CEO Aubrey McClendon

In 2008, McClendon made headlines when he was awarded a $77 million bonus even though stocks fell 60 percent. Shareholders filed a lawsuit against McClendon, claiming "Chesapeake’s board of directors ignored the company’s compensation policies when it approved a renegotiated contract in December 2008 that awarded McClendon a $75 million incentive award above his annual bonus of $1.9 million, granted more than $20 million in stock awards and agreed to purchase an art collection worth $12.1 million." The bonus and new contract came after McCelndon was forced to sell 94 percent of his shareholdings over 3 consecutive days. McClendon won dismissal of the case in February 2010 when "Oklahoma District Court Judge Twyla Mason Gray found that the shareholders failed to make a demand on the Chesapeake defendants before filing the lawsuit, a requirement for such claims. She rejected arguments by shareholder lawyers that such a demand would have been futile." McClendon is the 371st wealthiest American with a net worth of $1 billion as of 2010.

According to Rolling Stone:

When the fracking revolution began, [Aubrey] McClendon says, he and [landman Tom] Ward quickly realized that the new technique offered them an opening. In the natural gas industry, the advantage had long gone to operators with the geological and engineering expertise to pinpoint gas reservoirs. Now it didn't matter where you drilled – the gas was pretty much evenly distributed throughout the earth's deep shale layers. The edge suddenly belonged to operators who could lock up as much land as quickly and as cheaply as possible – precisely the skill that Ward and McClendon had developed scraping around Oklahoma land deeds. In 1989, the two men chipped in $50,000 to form a new company, Chesapeake Energy, to focus primarily on shale gas. It grew like a Silicon Valley startup: By 1993, when Chesapeake went public, the firm was valued at $25 million.

Senior Executives

• Aubrey K. McClendon: Chairman of the Board and CEO - He is also in the chair of the board of directors of the front group American Clean Skies Foundation. The channel produces what is notoriously known as Branded News. "McClendon is a Co-Founder and has been the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Chesapeake Energy Corp. since 1989. He is a Managing Partner and Founder of Deep Fork Capital. From 1982 to 1989, McClendon was an independent producer of oil and gas in affiliation. He has been a Director of Chesapeake Energy Corp. since 1989. McClendon also serves as a Member of Advisory Board of Eagle Energy Partners, Inc."
• Steven C. Dixon: Executive Vice President – Operations and Geosciences and COO - Dixon has been COO since February 13, 2006 and has been its Executive Vice President since February 2010. He served as Executive Vice President of Operations at Chesapeake Energy Corporation since February 13, 2006 until February 2010. Dixon served as Senior Vice President of Production at Chesapeake Energy Corp. from 1995 to February 13, 2006 and served as Vice President—Exploration from 1991 to 1995. He was a self-employed geological consultant in Wichita, Kansas from 1983 through 1990. He was also employed by Beren Corporation in Wichita, Kansas from 1980 to 1983 as a geologist.
• Douglas J. Jacobson: Executive Vice President - Acquisitions and Divestitures - "Jacobson has been Executive Vice President since April 2006. Prior to joining Chesapeake, he was employed by Samson Investment Company from 1980 until 1999, where he served as Senior Vice President of Project Development and Marketing from 1996 to 1999. Jacobson was also employed by Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. He has served on various Oklahoma legislative commissions which have addressed issues in the fracking and oil industry, including the Commission of Oil and Gas Production Practices and the Natural Gas Policy Commission."
• Domenic J. Dell'Osso, Jr.: Executive Vice President and CFO - Dell'Osso has been CFO "since October 29, 2010. He serves as Assistant Controller of Cooper Industries Ltd. and as Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Chesapeake Midstream Development, L.P., a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy Corporation. He served as Senior Vice President of Chesapeake Energy Corporation since October 29, 2010. Before joining Chesapeake in 2008, Dell'Osso worked at Jefferies & Co. and Banc of America Securities as an energy investment banker. He has been Director of Frac Tech Services, LLC since October 29, 2010. Dell'Osso is the designee of Chesapeake Energy Corporation."
• Martha A. Burger: Senior Vice President of Human and Corporate Resources - Burger has been at her current position since March 2007. "Her prior positions with Chesapeake included Treasurer from 1995 to March 2007, Senior Vice President of Human Resources from 2000 to March 2007 and Vice President of Human Resources from 1998 to 2000. Burger was employed by Hadson Corporation as Assistant Treasurer from 1989 to 1993 and served as Vice President and Controller of Hadson Corporation from 1993 to 1994. Prior to joining Hadson Corporation, she was employed by The Phoenix Resource Companies, Inc. as Assistant Treasurer and by Arthur Andersen & Co.
• Jeffrey A. Fisher: Senior Vice President of Production - Fisher has been Senior Vice President of Production since February 2006. He was Vice President—Operations for Chesapeake’s Southern Division from July 2005 to February 2006 and served as Operations Manager from 2003 to July 2005. Prior to joining Chesapeake, Fisher held the position of Asset Manager for BP from 2000 to 2003. From 1993 to 2000, He worked for Vastar Resources as Engineering Manager. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
• Jennifer M. Grigsby: Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Corporate Secretary- "Grigsby has served as Senior Vice President and Treasurer since March 2007 and as Corporate Secretary since 2000. She served as Vice President from April 2006 to March 2007 and as Assistant Treasurer from 1998 to March 2007. From 1995 to 1998, she served in various accounting positions with Chesapeake. Grigsby was employed by Commander Aircraft Company as Supervisor of Finance and Human Resources from 1994 to 1995 and by Deloitte & Touche LLC from 1991 to 1994."
• Henry J. Hood: Senior Vice President of Land and Legal and General Counsel - "Hood was appointed General Counsel in April 2006, and has served as Senior Vice President of Land and Legal since 1997. He served as Vice President of Land and Legal from 1995 to 1997. Hood was associated with the law firm of White, Coffey, Galt & Fite from 1992 to 1995. He was associated with or a partner of the law firm of Watson & McKenzie from 1987 to 1992. He is a member of the Oklahoma and Texas Bar Associations.
• James C. Johnson: Senior Vice President of Energy Marketing - "Johnson has served as President of Chesapeake Energy Marketing, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, since 2000. He served as Vice President of Contract Administration for Chesapeake from 1997 to 2000 and as Manager of Contract Administration from 1996 to 1997. From 1980 to 1996, Johnson held various gas marketing and land positions with Enogex, Inc., Delhi Gas Pipeline Corporation, TXO Production Corp. and Gulf Oil Corporation. Johnson is also a member of the Natural Gas & Energy Association of Oklahoma.
• Michael A. Johnson: Senior Vice President of Accounting, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer - "Johnson has been President of Chesapeake Energy Marketing, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy Corporation, since 2000. He served as Vice President of Contract Administration at Chesapeake Energy Corp., from 1997 to 2000 and as Manager of Contract Administration from 1996 to 1997. From 1980 to 1996, Mr. Johnson held various gas marketing and land positions with Enogex, Inc., Delhi Gas Pipeline Corporation, TXO Production Corp. and Gulf Oil Corporation. Johnson is also a member of the Natural Gas Association of Oklahoma."
• Stephen W. Miller: Senior Vice President of Drilling - "Stephen has served as Senior Vice President of Drilling since 2001. He served as Vice President of Drilling from 1996 to 2001 and as District Manager of College Station District from 1994 to 1996. Miller held various engineering positions in the fracking and oil industry from 1980 to 1993. Miller is a registered Professional Engineer and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers."
• Jeffrey L. Mobley: Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Research - Mobley "has been Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Research since February 2006 and was Vice President of Investor Relations and Research from May 2005 to February 2006. From 2002 to May 2005, he was Vice President of Equity Research at Raymond James & Associates focusing on the exploration and production sector. From 1998 to 2002, Mobley worked in energy investment banking for Prudential Securities and ABN Amro Securities. He also worked in the Principal Investments Group and Energy Finance Group at Enron Capital & Trade Resources from 1995 to 1998."
• Thomas S. Price, Jr.: Senior Vice President of Corporate Development & Government Relations - Price "has served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Government Relations since April 2005. He was Senior Vice President of Investor and Government Relations from April 2003 to April 2005. He was employed by Kerr-McGee Corporation, Oklahoma City, from 1988 to 1989 and by Flag-Redfern Oil Company from 1984 to 1988. Price is on the executive committee of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association and a board member of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association.
• J. Mike Stice: Senior Vice President of Natural Gas Projects and Chief Executive Officer Chesapeake Midstream Partners, L.P. - "Stice operates all of Chesapeake's gathering and processing assets outside of Appalachia, and is also responsible for Chesapeake's various initiatives focused on increasing the demand for Chesapeake's fracking production. He served as Chief Executive Officer of Chesapeake Midstream Partners LLC. and as President of Chesapeake Midstream Partners, L.P. of Chesapeake Energy Corp. since November 2008. Stice was President of Chesapeake Energy Corp. He also served as Chief Operating Officer of Chesapeake Midstream Partners, L.P. He previously spent 27 years with ConocoPhillips and served as President of ConocoPhillips Qatar, where he was responsible for the development, management and construction of natural gas liquefaction and regasification (LNG) projects. At ConocoPhillips, he also served as Vice President of Global Gas LNG, as President of Gas & Power and President of Energy Solutions in addition to other roles in ConocoPhillips' midstream business units."
• Cathy L. Tompkins: Senior Vice President of Information Technology - Tompkins "was appointed Senior Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer in January 2006. She served as Vice President of Information Technology from July 2005 to January 2006. Prior to joining Chesapeake, Tompkins spent 20 years in IT management and technical positions at various companies including Devon Energy Corporation, Ocean Energy, Inc., Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation, Price Waterhouse LLP and Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company.

Contact Information

Corporate Headquarters
Chesapeake Energy Corporation
P.O. Box 18496
Oklahoma City, OK 73154-0496
(405) 935-8000

Revenue Payments
revinquiry@chk.com
Inquiry Line: (877) CHK-1GAS
Fax: (405) 879-9558

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New York and fracking

Source Watch has a special clearinghouse on fracking, Fracking for Gas.