Chesapeake Energy seeking Barnett Shale partner
By Jim Fuquayjfuquay@star-telegram.com


Chesapeake Energy said Tuesday it is in talks with several major oil companies about a joint venture in the Barnett Shale, where the Oklahoma City-based independent is one of the largest producers.

Chesapeake has done similar deals in its other big U.S. shale gas fields, in which the company gives up a share of its holdings in exchange for its partner shouldering a large share of the future capital spending.

The biggest such venture is a $3.4 billion agreement with StatoilHydro in Appalachia’s Marcellus Shale, and it also has agreements with BP in the Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas and Plains Exploration and Production Co. in the Haynesville Shale in Louisiana.

Chesapeake disclosed the talks as part of its latest earnings announcement, which it issued after the close of trading on U.S. stock markets.

The company said it lost $866 million in the fourth quarter after taking a $1.7 billion after-tax write-down, or impairment, on the value of its reserves and other assets to reflect lower natural gas prices as of Dec. 31.

Not counting the write-down, Chesapeake said it earned $427 million in the quarter, or 73 cents a share, a penny short of Wall Street’s consensus estimate. The company’s shares fell 8 percent Tuesday as petroleum prices continued to weaken, and was down an additional 3 percent in after-hours trading.


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