CHESAPEAKE ENERGY, the second-largest US gas producer, will have assets worth up to $60 billion even after its planned disposal programme, its chief executive has said as he attempts to restore investor confidence.
Aubrey McClendon told analysts on a conference call that the company was entering into a new phase, “moving from a strategy of asset capture to a strategy of asset harvest”, as it slows its acquisition of new leases on oil and gas fields.
As a result, he added, the company was cutting its use of brokers acquiring leases by 80 per cent from its peak level, saving $350 million per year.
He repeated his commitment that the company was on course to raise up to $11 billion from asset sales and other deals this year, on top of $2.6 billion already announced.
Shares in Chesapeake fell sharply on Friday afternoon, closing 14 per cent lower, after the company warned in a quarterly filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that covenents attached to its revolving credit line with its banks might force delays to its planned disposals. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2012)
