McClendon Sends Email To All Chesapeake Employees

The Oklahoma Impact Team has obtained a copy of an email that Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon personally wrote and sent to all Chesapeake employees Monday morning.

The communication comes after several weeks in which Chesapeake and McClendon have been the focus of intense media coverage -- stories detailing possible conflicts of interest, questionable corporate governance, and shareholder displeasure. With the exception of statements made through corporate press releases and a conference call following the release of the company's first quarter earnings last week, McClendon has made no public statements on the matters.

WEB EXTRA:  Chesapeake Energy Timeline

This email does not address them directly, but is, nonetheless, reflective of McClendon's and the company's position:

Dear Fellow Chesapeake Employees:

Good morning to each of you. Given the scrutiny the company and I have been under during the past few weeks, I wanted to provide some perspective from my vantage point. I'd like to first acknowledge the obvious - it's been a difficult past few weeks for all of us at CHK. I regret that you and your families have had to endure the extra attention. The Board and I have taken actions to put the recent distractions behind us so that we can move forward together with our plan to continue building value for the company's shareholders and other stakeholders and to continue leading our country towards a cleaner, more affordable and more sustainable energy future.

I also want to assure you that we are operating our business on the strong foundation formed by our industry-leading asset quality and by our exceptionally talented and motivated employees. Although we will be slowing some of our drilling and leasehold acquisition activities because of the current 10 year lows in natural gas prices, we will still remain by far the most active driller in the U.S. We will also continue growing our liquids production and we will be well prepared to resume our gas production growth when gas prices recover.

In addition, please remember that CHK is a large company, with the value of our proved reserves being $24 billion (using PV10 and strip pricing), one of the nation's largest midstream businesses, a rapidly growing and valuable service business, 15 million net acres of valuable leasehold, rapidly growing liquids production, and an exciting future. Simply put, we have an unparalleled asset base and are in a strong position during this period of low natural gas prices to re-focus our capital and resources where they create the most value.

Another valuable corporate strength is you - our talented and dedicated workforce, which has helped build CHK into a positive and powerful force for good in our industry, our communities and in our nation. You should be very proud of our leadership in the industry, what we accomplish every day and what we will accomplish in the years ahead.

Please rest assured that during the 23 year long process of building this company from scratch, we have faced many challenging times like we face today and we successfully overcame them as well. The difference is that today, the size and quality of our asset base provide greater advantages than we had in the past. Led by the company's senior management team and with strong contributions from each of you, CHK is especially well qualified to work through the current challenges and we are dedicated to always moving forward.

On a final note, please remember that CHK has helped discover a new American treasure of clean, affordable and abundant American natural gas that is creating new opportunities for economic prosperity in communities and industries all across our country. We have helped create and lead the Great American Resource Revolution during the past seven years and we are doing all the right things to help facilitate increasing demand for natural gas in the power, transportation, industrial and export sectors. As we continue on our course into the future, I firmly believe our best days are ahead of us.

The senior management team and I very much appreciate your dedication to your job, your fellow employees and to your company and its mission. Thanks very much and I hope that you have a great day - Aubrey