Chesapeake Energy 2005 Annual Report Download - page 18

and driller, the sixth largest producer of U.S. natural gas, and have
built a proved reserve base that is 92% natural gas. We believe that
natural gas is the fuel of today and also of the future. Natural gas
burns more cleanly than any other hydrocarbon and therefore its
impact on the earth when extracted and consumed is benign.
We recognized earlier than most the many favorable social,
economic and environmental benefits of finding and producing clean-
burning, domestically-produced natural gas right here in America.
Every BTU of natural gas that Chesapeake produces is a BTU of
imported oil, dirty coal, or potentially dangerous nuclear power that
is not consumed. In an increasingly volatile geopolitical environment
and with increasing concern that climate change might be caused
by burning too much coal and oil, natural gas is the right choice
for the 21st century – for our investors, for our country and for the
world itself.
COMMUNITY SERVICE Chesapeake has a strong tradition
of community service, stewardship and leadership. We count among
our greatest assets those generous and compassionate employees
that recognize and internalize the saying, “to whom much is given,
much is expected.” Chesapeake’s employees recognize that they are
fortunate in many ways and, in turn, they continuously strive to be
positive role models in the workplace and in their home communities.
We believe this is a major reason why Chesapeake has become an
employer of choice in most of the areas where we are active.
The focus of our community service effort is identifying needs,
determining the opportunities for building sustainable alliances to
meet those needs, and then establishing productive partners who
have the expertise and commitment to enable our support to have a
material impact. Targeting community service commitments in this
manner ensures maximum return on our considerable charitable
investments.
In 2005, Chesapeake donated $4.1 million to more than 300
social and community organizations. Our interests range from the
COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY As Chesapeake has
grown and prospered over the years, our definition of success has
evolved as well. While we have always focused primarily on consistently
executing our business strategy to generate top-tier investor returns,
we have also focused on being high-quality corporate citizens and
on increasing our community service contributions.
Next to creating value for investors, our top priorities remain
creating challenging and rewarding jobs for our diverse group of
employees, acting as good stewards of the environment, promoting
the many favorable environmental benefits of using natural gas and
improving the quality of life in the communities and states in which
we work.
JOB CREATION Nothing improves a community, state or
country more than creating high-quality jobs. Chesapeake is very
proud that we have created more than 1,100 jobs in the past year
alone and that we now employ over 3,500 hard-working and
highly-skilled Americans in one of the country’s most attractive and
employee-focused corporate workplaces. Furthermore, our workforce
has expanded over 700% in the past six years enabling Chesapeake
to more efficiently conduct the nation’s most active drilling and
acquisition program.
This energetic and dedicated team is highly motivated to continue
creating value for investors while also making a positive impact in
the communities where they live and work. From our business strategy,
to the environmentally friendly product we produce, to the organizations
we support, everything we do at Chesapeake is conducted with the
highest standards and our employees sign and live up to a stringent
standard of business conduct and ethics.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY Nothing in
the energy exploration business personifies environmental responsibility
more than natural gas and no company personifies natural gas more
than Chesapeake. We are the nation’s most active natural gas explorer
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
In another example of
leadership, Chesapeake’s
employees led the way in
the Central Oklahoma United
Way’s 2005 fundraising
efforts, making history by
being the first corporation
in Oklahoma City to
give $1 million.
14 CHK ANNUAL REPORT