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Teamwork
extends beyond company lines as
Chesapeake accelerates development of the Marcellus
Shale. To facilitate the development of the massive
play, which has a prospective area ten times that of
the Barnett Shale, we have entered into a joint venture
partnership with Norwegian-based StatoilHydro.
Marcellus
Shale
ShaleShale
Marcellus Shale
international energy companies. This transac-
tion, in which we sold a 32.5% interest in our
Marcellus assets, was completed in November
2008. StatoilHydro had been seeking an entry
point into a big U.S. shale play
and had independently arrived
at the conclusion that the Mar-
cellus was the best shale play
in which to invest. StatoilHydro
approached us in May 2008,
and over the next six months
the deal took many twists
and turns against a backdrop
of steadily worsening global
economic conditions and con-
tinually weakening natural gas
and oil prices.
Among all our transactions during 2008,
we are most proud of the StatoilHydro trans-
action because almost nothing was going
right in the world around us as we negotiat-
ed the deal. Nevertheless, the joint venture
came together because StatoilHydro was as-
tute enough to recognize that the Marcellus
will likely generate very favorable returns for
at least the next 50 years and should in time
surpass the Haynesville to become the larg-
est U.S. natural gas  eld and one of the  ve
largest in the world.
Today, Chesapeake is drilling with 10 rigs
in the Marcellus. We plan to end
2009 with at least 20 rigs drill-
ing and project 30 rigs drilling
by year-end 2010 and 40 rigs
drilling by year-end 2011. The
initial wells in the joint venture
have been very successful and
the eastern U.S. natural gas mar-
ket continues to o er producers
the best pro t margins in the
nation. In addition, we also are
engaged with StatoilHydro in
searching for additional shale gas plays around
the world in a 50/50 partnership. We are in-
trigued and excited by the opportunity to extend
Chesapeake Energy Corporation Annual Report 2008
POWERFUL ASSETS:
14
Chesapeake Energy Corporation Annual Report 2008
extends beyond company lines as
O.D. Oldaker, Daytime Driller –
Nomac Drilling, and Zachary
Arnold, Marcellus Completion
Superintendent – Jane Lew,
West Virginia
STATOILHYDRO HAD
BEEN SEEKING AN
ENTRY POINT INTO A BIG
U.S. SHALE PLAY AND
HAD INDEPENDENTLY
ARRIVED AT THE
CONCLUSION THAT THE
MARCELLUS WAS THE
BEST SHALE PLAY IN
WHICH TO INVEST