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OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 12, 2008--Chesapeake Energy
Corporation (NYSE:CHK) today announced that it has closed the sale of
its Arkoma Basin Woodford Shale assets to BP America Inc. (NYSE:BP)
for approximately $1.7 billion in cash.
Aubrey K. McClendon, Chesapeake's Chief Executive Officer,
commented, "We are pleased to announce the completion of the sale of
our Arkoma Woodford properties to BP. This transaction was an
important aspect of our ongoing asset monetization program and enables
Chesapeake to redeploy capital to our Haynesville, Barnett and
Marcellus Shale plays and further improves the company's capital
structure.
"We now turn our focus to negotiating joint venture arrangements
in the Fayetteville and Marcellus Shale plays. We anticipate selling
25% of our interest in those two plays using a "PXP-style" transaction
in which we receive partial consideration in cash at closing and then
receive a tax-efficient carry of development costs over time as wells
are drilled. There is strong industry interest in both plays and also
in our preferred deal structure. Accordingly, we hope to announce
transaction details by the end of the third quarter."
Chesapeake Energy Corporation is the 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. Further information is
available at www.chk.com.
This news release contains 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, including our plans to engage
in transactions with respect to our Fayetteville and Marcellus Shale
plays. We believe that our expectations are based on reasonable
assumptions. No assurance, however, can be given that such
expectations will prove to have been correct. The proposed
transactions are subject to negotiation, and a number of factors could
cause the timing and transaction structure to differ materially from
our expectations. Such factors include the volatility of natural gas
and oil prices, drilling risks, uncertainties inherent in estimating
reserves and future production, the availability of capital and the
ability to execute on our development plans. See "Risk Factors" in the
Prospectus Supplement we filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission on July 10, 2008 for a more complete discussion of risk
factors that affect our business and could cause actual results to
differ from anticipated results. We undertake no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
CONTACT: 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
SOURCE: Chesapeake Energy Corporation