Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) announced today the delay of some of its assets sales transactions including the Mississippi Lime, the Oklahoma and Kansas shale formations, which is supposed to be completed by the end of the year.
During the earnings conference call of the company, Aubrey McClendon, Chief Executive Officer of Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) explained that the company’s decision is to delay its assets sales and to re-evaluate its selling strategy – particularly its stakes in the joint venture in the Mississippi Lime formation. This is due to the increasing political pressures over foreign investments in the country’s energy resources.
The company is no longer seeking investments from Asian companies, but McClendon said Chesapeake is in discussions with a number of the oil industry players to purchase some of its drilling rights. McClendon is positive that Chesapeake will be able to close a transaction on the Mississippi Lime formation during the first quarter of 2013.
McClendon stated that Chesapeake is still searching for a joint-venture partnership, and the company is considering a 100 percent sale, as well.
Chesapeake’s Chief Financial Officer Domenic Dell’Osso said the company maintains its objective to raise $17 billion to $19 billion from selling the company’s assets by 2013. According to him, the company capital expenditures increased during the third quarter by $250 million due to delays in closing its asset sales transactions.
Last month, the Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) completed its $7 billion asset sales at the Permian Basin. Its total net proceeds from the transaction were $3.3 billion, which will be used to repay some its debts.
Chesapeake Energy reported a net loss of $2.06 billion or $3.19 per fully diluted common share during the third quarter of 2012. The company also posted a negative EBITDA of $2.37 billion. Their operating cash flow for the past three months was $1.12 billion. The company generated revenue of $2.98 billion from the production of 381 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent (bcfe) during the period.
During the third quarter, the company’s gas production increased by 25 percent per day despite McClendon’s decision to change its focus in drilling output in oil and byproducts. Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) increased its budget for drilling for 2012 by 9.4 percent to $8.75 billion. The previous estimated budget was around $8 billion to $8.5 billion.
The stock price of Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) is down by more than 6 percent to $18.79 cents per share as of 1:39 PM, ET on Friday at the New York Stock Exchange.
