Chesapeake Energy is tops in Haynesville
Chesapeake Energy Corp. is the leading natural gas producer in the Haynesville Shale, followed closely by Houston-based Petrohawk Energy Corp. Chesapeake is credited with first recognizing the enormous potential of the Haynesville formation. The Oklahoma City-based company is the No. 1 independent producer of natural gas in the nation and the most active driller of new wells in the United States.
The Haynesville Shale is located in northwestern Louisiana, northeast Texas, and southwestern Arkansas.
Although Oil & Gas Financial Journal did not have up-to-date production information from the Marcellus shale at press time, Chesapeake is also the largest leasehold owner in that Eastern US shale play, which spans from West Virginia to southern New York. The company ranks second in production in the Barnett, second in the Fayetteville, and ninth in the Woodford.
Chesapeake says its strategy is focused on discovering, acquiring, and developing conventional and unconventional natural gas reserves onshore in the US, primarily in the Barnett, Haynesville, Fayetteville, and Marcellus shale plays. In addition, the company has substantial operations in various other plays, both conventional and unconventional, in the Mid-Continent, Appalachian Basin, Permian Basin, Delaware Basin, South Texas, Texas Gulf Coast, and Ark-La-Tex regions of the US.
Chesapeake Energy operation in Haynesville Shale. Photo courtesy of Chesapeake Energy Corp.
According to the quarterly OGJ200 report in this issue, Chesapeake currently ranks as the eighth-largest US producer, based on total assets. The company is 5th in capital and exploration spending, 10th in total revenue, 11th in stockholders’ equity, and 8th in market capitalization.
Chesapeake is commemorating its 20th anniversary this year. In just two decades, the company has grown enormously from a start-up with $50,000 of capital, no proved reserves or natural gas production, and fewer than 10 employees. Since then the company has drilled more than 18,000 wells, employs 7,800 people, and has an annual payroll of approximately $1 billion.
