Chesapeake Energy Announces Three Oil, Gas Asset Monetization Transactions

RELATED NEWS

Trade BX now with

4/9/2012 4:50 PM ET

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK: Quote) announced three oil and gas asset monetization transactions for total proceeds of about $2.6 billion in cash.

Chesapeake stated that it has completed the sale of preferred shares of a newly formed unrestricted, non-guarantor consolidated subsidiary, CHK Cleveland Tonkawa, L.L.C. or CHK C-T, and a 3.75% overriding royalty interest in the first 1,000 new net wells to be drilled on CHK C-T leasehold and certain wells contributed at closing for proceeds of $1.25 billion.

Also, the holders of CHK C-T preferred shares are entitled to receive an initial annual distribution of 6%, payable quarterly, the company said.

Chesapeake has retained an option exercisable prior to March 31, 2019 to repurchase the preferred shares for cash in whole or in part at any time, at a valuation equal to the greater of a 9% internal rate of return or a return on investment of 1.35x.

In addition, Chesapeake has also completed the sale of a 10-year volumetric production payment or VPP to an affiliate of Morgan Stanley (MS) for proceeds of about $745 million, or approximately $4.68 per thousand cubic feet of natural gas equivalent, for certain producing assets in its Anadarko Basin Granite Wash play.

Chesapeake said that the transaction included about 160 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent or bcfe of proved reserves and current net production of an estimated 125 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent or mmcfe per day.

Including this transaction, the company has completed 10 VPP transactions since December 2007 and, in doing so, has sold about 1.37 trillion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent or tcfe of proved reserves for combined proceeds of approximately $6.4 billion, or about $4.65 per mcfe, which is approximately 300% more than the company's current drilling and completion cost per mcfe.

Finally, Chesapeake added that it has recently signed a purchase and sale agreement covering approximately 58,400 net acres of leasehold in the Texoma Woodford play in Bryan, Carter, Johnston and Marshall counties in Oklahoma to XTO Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM), for about $590 million in cash before certain deduction and standard closing adjustments. The transaction is expected to close on April 30, 2012.

To receive FREE breaking news email alerts for The Blackstone Group and others in your portfolio

by RTT Staff Writer

For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News

Quick Facts

<<Previous 325 Articles

Editors Pick

Fed Concerns Contribute To Lackluster Session On Wall Street - U.S. Commentary

There was a mixed performance on Wall Street on Friday. Shares suffered an early decline, as investors continued to express worries about the Federal Reserve. A recovery through the rest of the day allowed the Dow to edge into positive territory by the close. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 posted fractional losses.

Stocks Come Under Pressure Amid Worries About The Fed - U.S. Commentary

Stocks have shown a notable move to the downside in early trading on Friday amid lingering concerns about the outlook for the Federal Reserve's asset purchase program. The major averages have slid firmly into negative territory, adding to the modest losses posted in the previous session. The major averages are currently posting notable losses, near their lows for the young session.

U.S. Durable Goods Orders Rise 3.3% In April, More Than Expected

After reporting a sharp drop in new orders for manufactured durable goods in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing that durable goods orders rebounded by more than anticipated in the month of April. The report said durable goods orders surged up by 3.3 percent in April after tumbling by a revised 5.9 percent in March.