Chesapeake Business Practices

[jn1780]

CHK bought the house next door for about $250K.

Ouch, if this one was offered a similar price, that could have been a nice new house somewhere.

[pw405]

Probably an elderly couple who think they "won". The house is in the shadow of two parking garages and it will be next to impossible to sale the house itself. They have to hope now another company wants that land, but even then they won't get nearly as much as they would in the Chesapeake boom days.

I'm pretty sure the lady that lives there is a hoarder, and likely the reason she didn't sell. When I used to work there, I would see her walking around the front yard with underwear on moving random boxes everywhere, and if you look closely, she has 4-5 storage sheds that are packed to the brim with random stuff.

I was once outside milling around after work on a phone call with a friend (long distance) and she flies up in her car, almost hysterical, asking "what are you doing here?" "I work here", pointing to the office building I am standing in front of, on the south side of the street from her house. She replies "Well, I'm really worried for my safety, a few nights ago, I think saw some BLACK people walking down the street, so I'm going to call the police now when I see people out here". Whoah!!!! ... OK lady... I encouraged her to call the police right away and tell them there is a person on the phone at CHK. Weird weird weird. She obviously isn't well, but I feel SO bad for her she didn't sell her house!

Although to be honest, I wouldn't mind living there in a new structure. Easy highway access, plenty of places to go withing walking distance, no neighbors to worry about, and likely very safe, as CHK has 24/7 security patrols.

Does anybody know if CHK still owns that parcel of land surrounding her house?

[Pete]

^

CHK owns that entire block which surrounds her house and has since the Aubrey buy-a-thon.

[pw405]

^

CHK owns that entire block which surrounds her house and has since the Aubrey buy-a-thon.

I still wonder what Aubrey had envisioned for that area. Logically, I would assume that he wanted to build a few more whacky Rand-Elliot buildings. Some have claimed that he wanted have his initials in the shape of the buildings: B14 looks like a "K", B15 looks like an "A", and one would only assume the next plan was to have one shaped like an "M".

While I was never a fan of his "expand at all costs" management style..... boy-o-boy... to think what could have been if natural gas never went below $5, and oil stayed near $80. Hell, by now they would probably have 30,000 employees!

[mugofbeer]

Im guessing he wanted a Cherry Creek North (Denver) or Preston and NW Hiway (Dallas) type of development.

[Johnb911]

I used to work in the now demolished building just north of this lady's house and I would see her in her back yard from the parking lot. Never had any interaction with her other than a 'hello' as I'd get in my car after work from time to time. I was told by my co-workers that she refused to sell to AKM because her dog had run away and she had been told 'by a cloud of butterflies' that she needed to stay there for when the dog would return.

[Anonymous.]

These stories are fascinating. I sort of want to see an interview with this resident. I wonder if she has heirs and where they have been in all of this.

[Pete]

It is interesting because if it was a public project, they could merely use eminent domain and have the courts determine a fair price.

But since this is CHK or another private developer, all they can do is try and throw money at the problem. And for some people, it's not about the money.

[chuck5815]

It is interesting because if it was a public project, they could merely use eminent domain and have the courts determine a fair price.

But since this is CHK or another private developer, all they can do is try and throw money at the problem. And for some people, it's not about the money.

Well . . . . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelo_v..._of_New_London

[Pete]

Well . . . . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelo_v..._of_New_London

That was a municipality getting involved and taking the property from one owner and then selling to another, something that doesn't apply to CHK, especially since they were relatively at war with the city because they kept coming for rezoning requests and would never reveal their bigger plan.

Also, the individual rights of property owners in cases such of this have been upheld in many subsequent court cases.

Generally speaking, cities / governments do not take private land for anything other than government use because they know that practice would likely be struck down in court. In fact, this very issue created problems regarding the city taking private land through eminent domain for the convention center then selling off a piece to a hotel developer, which turned out to be Omni.

[mugofbeer]

Might the fact the city is investing millions into the Omni I n a public-private partnership make the eminent domain valid?

[Richard at Remax]

Apparently CHK laying off people this morning. Sounds like it's around 1/4 of the campus.

[catch22]

Apparently CHK laying off people this morning. Sounds like it's around 1/4 of the campus.

A 25% layoff would be massive. Hopefully you are wrong.

[Pete]

Being told it's pretty substantial and an organized bunch of security people to provide assistance in escorting people out.

[dankrutka]

[@Mecoy] NEW: Chesapeake Energy laying off 13 percent of its employees, or about 400 people, including 330 in OKC.

https://twitter.com/Mecoy/status/958364881731891201

[Johnb911]

Just heard the 13% number from a buddy who works there

[chuck5815]

[@Mecoy] NEW: Chesapeake Energy laying off 13 percent of its employees, or about 400 people, including 330 in OKC.

https://twitter.com/Mecoy/status/958364881731891201

Obviously the whole market is down today, but I noticed that Gulfport's stock is off by almost 8%. Who knew that rising interest rates + tons of leverage was a bad combination? You see the same thing happening to REITs, too.

[Bellaboo]

'Ang***** , said its 13% and it a division that they had sold and now they don’t need those people, plus other low performers.'


This is what I heard from an employee.

[Pete]

Holy cow, that is a lot of people considering 1) they have already laid off a ton and 2) oil prices continue to go up.

Reminder that the City has paid CHK $1.925 million in job creation incentives and none of that will be paid back.

[Bellaboo]

^^^ Are you sure that they are paid before the time qualifications are met ?

My understanding is the QOJ program does not pay up front.

[Pete]

^^^ Are you sure that they are paid before the time qualifications are met ?

My understanding is the QOJ program does not pay up front.

Yes, all of the $1.925 million has been paid to Chesapeake.

The original GOLT allocation (back in 2012) was for $3.5 million but they never met their target at the peak, then the layoffs started.

[dcsooner]

Until OKC further diversifies its employment base, these cyclical layoffs in the O&G industry will impact both college graduate percentage and median income as they represent the higher paying positions within the City.

[PhiAlpha]

Until OKC further diversifies its employment base, these cyclical layoffs in the O&G industry will impact both college graduate percentage and median income as they represent the higher paying positions within the City.

This is not really a cyclical layoff. You could’ve considered it that 2 years ago, but commodity prices have been steadily rising since then and most companies have either been stable or hiring. This is company specific and a result of their massive assets sales in an attempt to stabilize and reduce debt. The timing is a bit surprising give that commodity prices are the highest they’ve been since 2014, but unfortunately I feel like this was inevitable at some point. They still have a massive asset base though so hopefully this is the last of their layoffs.

Having said that, quit beating on the diversification drum. We could certainly use more diversity in our local economy but don’t act like OKC has been in dire straits for the last 3 years. The city road out the worst industry downturn in the past 30 years with barely a scratch. As Pete and others keep saying, our local economy has diversified much more than many seem to give it credit for. Aside from the state budget’s over reliance on the energy industry, both OKC and Tulsa weathered the downturn very well. At this point a healthy energy industry is more of an accelerator for the economy than a sluggish one is a hinderance.

[gopokes88]

Holy cow, that is a lot of people considering 1) they have already laid off a ton and 2) oil prices continue to go up.

Reminder that the City has paid CHK $1.925 million in job creation incentives and none of that will be paid back.

That would matter if CHK sold oil but they are still heavily gas.

Tom Ward’s Mach Resources just bought their assets in NW OK and CHK sold their assets around Lindsey. Still more news to come.

[gopokes88]

Until OKC further diversifies its employment base, these cyclical layoffs in the O&G industry will impact both college graduate percentage and median income as they represent the higher paying positions within the City.

LOL.

We literally just had a company in the aerospace industry announce 350 jobs last week. Stop being so predictable