http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6683593.html

Q: Say I'm an E&P company that bought a bunch of leases last spring, just before the economy got really bad, and now the clock is ticking. What should I do to keep from losing my leases? Risk going broke to just get those projects off the ground?

A: There's still the traditional options of borrowing from banks or raising additional equity, and there have been several equity raises done this year. But one of the other things you're seeing is joint ventures, where companies with some of the best acreage positions in the shales are doing joint ventures with those that don't have good acreage or none at all. In some cases the company coming in pays money upfront and pays not only its share of drilling costs but a portion of the other company's costs. The transactions done by Chesapeake Energy with BP and Plains Exploration are the best example of how they've been innovative and proactive to get drilling done to maintain their acreage positions.