Chesapeake, Statoil going overseas officially

BY JOHN-LAURENT TRONCHE
June 29, 2009


Chesapeake Energy Corp. CEO Aubrey K. McClendon publicly said (he hadn’t previously) that the Oklahoma City-based company and Marcellus Shale partner StatoilHydro were equal partners in a plan to seek unconventional shale gas plays worldwide.

The two companies formed a partnership in November 2008 when Norway-based Statoil Hydro agreed to take a 32.5 percent stake in 1.8 million net acres of Marcellus Shale interests for about $3.375 billion.

“I'd like to mention that Statoil and Chesapeake today have the first worldwide joint venture on a 50/50 basis that is scheduled to look for new shale gas reserves around the world,” McClendon said during a June 12 shareholder meeting. “We think that they have the commercial skills to operate – to put us in various countries around the world. And, we think we have the technological skills – the petro-physical skills, to look for shales around the world. And I think this is one of the most encouraging things in the world today.”

Previously, only a StatoilHydro executive had commented about the two companies’ intentions. During a May interview with Bloomberg, the executive said the companies had identified 14 different unconventional natural gas projects worldwide, including plays in Hungary, Poland, India, Australia and China.

API, labor groups create committee

The American Petroleum Institute and 15 labor unions unveiled the creation of the Oil and Natural Gas Industry Labor-Management Committee, which will work to promote job retention and growth, according to a statement.

The energy industry employs more than 1.8 million people and supports another 4 million U.S. workers; the committee will work to identify workers needed to support the industry, as well as form coalitions to “advance public policy goals and promote technology that will drive job growth and address long-term challenges, such as increasing access, promoting pro-job growth tax policies, promoting energy security, and rationally addressing climate change,” according to the statement.

“By working together, we can protect and promote job growth and continue to be a constructive economic force for the nation,” said J. Larry Nichols, API chairman and CEO of Devon Energy Corp., in a statement. “Our partnership signals an unshakable confidence in our nation and its ability to recover from the current recession. We want the country to have the energy it needs to create jobs for future generations of working Americans.”

Among the participating unions are the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers.

Quicksilver offers $600 million

in senior notes

Quicksilver Resources Inc. is offering $600 million in stock to help pay down debt on a loan facility due in 2013. The company also will use proceeds from its recently completed sale of some interests to Eni, an Italian energy company.

The company completed the sale of 27.5 percent of its Alliance leasehold interests to Eni for about $280 million. The Alliance leasehold covers about 13,000 net acres in Denton and Tarrant counties.


Buck