Chesapeake Energy 2010 Annual Report Download - page 13

atmosphere of vitality and energy at Chesapeake, important ingredi-
ents of our distinctive culture. These attributes, along with a vibrant
and attractive corporate headquarters campus, low levels of bureau-
cracy, great assets and a well-executed corporate strategy combine to
create our culture of success and innovation.
This has generated extremely positive external feedback as
Chesapeake was recently recognized for the fourth consecutive year
as one of the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For®(3) in the U.S.
In fact, we moved up to #32 overall and #1 in our industry — we are
very proud of having created and sustained what is now considered
the best place to work in all of the U.S. energy production industry.
In addition, we were honored in December 2010 at the 12th Annual
Platts Global Energy Awards as finalists for CEO of the Year, Community
Development Program of the Year, Deal of the Year, Energy Producer
of the Year and the Industry Leadership Award. Chesapeake was one
of only two companies selected as a finalist in five or more categories.
The company was also honored in 2010 with a Certificate of Recognition
for our military reserve recruiting efforts, named a 2010 Best Diversity
Company by Engineering & Information Technology Magazine and rec-
ognized for Best Investor Relations in Energy Sector and Best Investor
Relations Website at the 2010 IR Magazine U.S. Awards.
Recent Events and a Better Way Forward
You may be aware that I have been outspoken in attempting to persuade
our country’s political leadership to recognize that the discovery of vast
resources of unconventional natural gas and oil in the U.S. is a complete
game changer for our country from an economic, national security and
environmental perspective. After two years of my best efforts and the
efforts of many others in the industry, most notably T. Boone Pickens,
From our beginning 22 years ago with 10
employees in Oklahoma City to employing
more than 10,000 people across 15 states
today, Chesapeake has always focused on
building first-class human resources within
a distinctive corporate culture.
<< A Chesapeake rig drills in the Marcellus Shale, where the company is
the leading leasehold owner, largest producer and most active driller.
wet natural gas and dry natural gas), similar to the components of the
Eagle Ford Shale. We have made a large commitment to this play and
have acquired approximately 1.2 million net leasehold acres and expect
to increase this total to as much as 1.5 million net leasehold acres in the
coming months. We are currently using three rigs to evaluate the play
and believe our leasehold could support the drilling of up to 12,000 net
wells. This is an area where we anticipate bringing in a joint venture
partner late in 2011 or early in 2012.
Our People
Great assets cannot exist without great people, so we take great pride
in hiring, training, motivating, rewarding and retaining what we regard
as the best employees in the industry. From our beginning 22 years ago
with 10 employees in Oklahoma City to employing more than 10,000
people across 15 states today, Chesapeake has always focused on build-
ing first-class human resources within a distinctive corporate culture. Talk
to Chesapeake employees and you will note genuine pride and great
enthusiasm about the company and the critical role that we play in deliv-
ering increasing quantities of clean and affordable American natural gas
and valuable and reliable liquids to energy consumers across the country.
Chesapeake employees are distinctive in other ways as well. They
are much younger than the industry average, with half of our almost
4,000 Oklahoma City-based headquarters employees 33 years old
or younger. Their enthusiasm and willingness to learn create an
12 | LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS