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OKLAHOMA CITY, Jun 06, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- In conjunction with its 2008 Annual Meeting of Shareholders,
Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) today provided an update on
its activities in its significant Haynesville Shale discovery in
Northwest Louisiana and East Texas. In the past month, the company has
successfully completed two additional horizontal wells in the play at
flow rates comparable to its first four horizontal wells and the
company anticipates completing two more horizontal wells by the end of
June. The company now owns or has commitments for approximately
500,000 net acres of leasehold in the Haynesville Shale and has
achieved its initial leasehold ownership goal. As a result of ongoing
drilling success in the play, the company has elected to continue its
leasehold acquisition efforts. Chesapeake is currently using five
operated rigs to further develop its Haynesville Shale leasehold and
anticipates operating at least 12 rigs by year-end 2008 and at least
30 rigs by year-end 2009.
Management Comments
Aubrey K. McClendon, Chesapeake's Chief Executive Officer,
commented, "We are pleased to report further success in our
Haynesville Shale discovery. Our technical analysis of the play over
the past two years combined with the impressive drilling results on
our first six horizontal wells and wells recently drilled by others in
the industry continue to support our assessment that the Haynesville
Shale play could potentially have a larger impact on the company than
any other play in which we have participated to date. We plan to
accelerate our drilling activity in the play to generate substantial
production growth and capture outstanding financial returns available
in the current attractive natural gas price environment."
Shareholder Meeting and Webcast Information
Chesapeake's 2008 Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be held
today, June 6, 2008, at 10:00 am CDT at The Skirvin Hotel, Grand
Ballroom A-C, 1 Park Avenue, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The meeting will
be webcast live on the Internet and can be accessed by going to
Chesapeake's website at www.chk.com and selecting the "News & Events"
section.
This press release and the accompanying Outlooks include
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934. Forward-looking statements give our current expectations or
forecasts of future events. They include projections of future natural
gas and oil prices, planned capital expenditures for drilling,
leasehold acquisitions, as well as statements concerning business
strategy and other plans and objectives for future operations. We
caution you not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release, and
we undertake no obligation to update this information.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
expected results are described in "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, filed
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 29, 2008.
These risk factors include the volatility of natural gas and oil
prices; the limitations our level of indebtedness may have on our
financial flexibility; our ability to compete effectively against
strong independent natural gas and oil companies and majors; the
availability of capital on an economic basis, including planned asset
monetization transactions, to fund reserve replacement costs; our
ability to replace reserves and sustain production; uncertainties
inherent in estimating quantities of natural gas and oil reserves and
projecting future rates of production and the amount and timing of
development expenditures; uncertainties in evaluating natural gas and
oil reserves of acquired properties and associated potential
liabilities; our ability to effectively consolidate and integrate
acquired properties and operations; unsuccessful exploration and
development drilling; declines in the values of our natural gas and
oil properties resulting in ceiling test write-downs; lower prices
realized on natural gas and oil sales and collateral required to
secure hedging liabilities resulting from our commodity price risk
management activities; the negative impact lower natural gas and oil
prices could have on our ability to borrow; drilling and operating
risks, including potential environmental liabilities; production
interruptions that could adversely affect our cash flow; and pending
or future litigation.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation is the third-largest producer of
natural gas in the U.S. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the company's
operations are focused on exploratory and developmental drilling and
corporate and property acquisitions in the Fort Worth Barnett Shale,
Fayetteville Shale, Haynesville Shale, Mid-Continent, Appalachian
Basin, Permian Basin, Delaware Basin, South Texas, Texas Gulf Coast
and Ark-La-Tex regions of the United States. Chesapeake's Internet
address is www.chk.com.
SOURCE: Chesapeake Energy Corporation
Chesapeake Energy Corporation
Jeffrey L. Mobley, CFA, 405-767-4763
Senior Vice President -
Investor Relations and Research
Jeff.Mobley@Chk.Com
or
Marc Rowland, 405-879-9232
Executive Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer
Marc.Rowland@Chk.Com