Chesapeake Energy pounces on Haynesville

The recently bankrupt gas producer has splashed the cash on a merger that will significantly boost its stake in the southern play

US gas heavyweight Chesapeake Energy may have only recently emerged from Chapter 11, but the company’s $2.2bn merger with Haynesville-focused operator Vine Energy shows bullish confidence in the basin’s commercial prospects. The acquisition transforms Chesapeake into the Haynesville dry gas basin’s largest producer. The company’s footprint in the play is set to increase by c.55pc, and net daily production by 198pc. The bulk of Vine’s portfolio sits close to Chesapeake’s acreage in the De Soto parish of northwest Louisiana.   “The position that it gives us around the marketing of gas and the proximity to LNG is a really significant competitive advantage” Dell’Osso, Chesapeake Chesapea