Chesapeake

U.S. onshore operator American Energy Partners LP (AELP) has hired Scott D. Sachs as senior geoscience executive adviser, James C. Johnson as senior marketing and midstream executive and Traci D. Cook as chief accounting officer. All three previously worked for AELP founder Aubrey McClendon when he was CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corp. Sachs, 54, had been vice president of geoscience from 2005 to 2014 and spent 18 years at Marathon Oil Co. Johnson, 57, was Chesapeake senior vice president of marketing for 18 years and, beginning in 2000, was president of Chesapeake Energy Marketing Inc. Cook, 50, was a Chesapeake executive for 19 years and since 2006 had been vice president and division controller of financial analysis and reporting.

A group of Pennsylvania landowners has filed a lawsuit asserting that Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Access Midstream Partners LP, now part of Williams, conspired to constrain trade for natural gas market services in Bradford County, in violation of federal antitrust laws.

American Energy Partners LP (AELP) and its founder, Aubrey K. McClendon, said they intend to “respond vigorously” to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by Chesapeake Energy Corp. that alleges the former Chesapeake CEO stole trade secrets during his final months at the helm to benefit the partnership.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has agreed to pay $119 million to settle a lawsuit in Oklahoma that alleges the producer underpaid natural gas royalties on nearly 12,000 wells over a 10-year period.

A new proposal amending a settlement between a group of Pennsylvania landowners and Chesapeake Energy Corp. that’s been tied up in federal court for more than a year now would find the company paying $3.5 million more than originally agreed if approved by a judge.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has received subpoenas from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and state agencies in connection with leasehold purchases and royalty underpayments, according to a regulatory filing.

A $7.5 million settlement reached last year between Pennsylvania landowners and Chesapeake Energy Corp. to resolve claims that the company improperly deducted post-production fees from royalty checks has yet to be approved and remains tied-up in a federal court.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. on Tuesday was ordered to proceed to trial in a Michigan court on one count of racketeering and 20 counts of false pretenses for allegedly defrauding private landowners in the summer of 2010.

Pennsylvania Attorney General (AG) Kathleen Kane’s office appears to be pressing ahead with a far-reaching investigation into the royalty deductions by Chesapeake Energy Corp. from landowner’s checks, most recently issuing administrative subpoenas to multiple companies operating in the state.