Aubrey McClendon is gone – or at least he's on his way out from Chesapeake energy (CHK). But the destruction of the natural gas market, where he was the ringleader in the shale gas land grab and cratering well price, is his real legacy, and not likely to be recovered from anytime soon. While Aubrey will now go into a very wealthy retirement, he leaves behind a decimated market and a long road to making natural gas a true transition fuel to energy independence and a renewable future.
Devon Energy Corp announced Tuesday the sale to China’s Sinopec of a one-third stake in five shale projects in the United States. The terms of the deal call for China’s No. 2 oil company to pay 900 million dollars in cash to the US firm and contribute 1.6 billion toward the cost of drilling.
Giant Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton has agreed to buy shale gas assets from US firm Chesapeake Energy for 4.75 billion US dollars. The purchase of Chesapeake's stake in a field in Fayetteville, Arkansas represents a move into the rapidly expanding shale gas business for BHP.