2011 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For

[kinggober]

Chesapeake moved up 2 spots to 32. Devon fell to 41.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortu...pshots/32.html

[dankrutka]

Quik Trip is up there pretty high. Can Quik Trip and 7/11 end their stupid agreement to not compete with each other?!?!? The Quik Trip product is infinitely superior and would destroy 7/11 in competition. Everyone on the west side of the state is missing out...

[dmoor82]

^^OnCue is good enough!!!!

[Jethrol]

WOOT! So happy to see Chesapeake move ahead of Devon on this list. CHK has been hiring non-stop throughout the worst economic crisis since the great depression while last year Devon cut 10% of their work force.

Not only that they took another company public, Chesapeake Midstream Partners (CHKM), they're revitalizing NW OKC and they've been a leader in supporting this community (i.e. CHK boathouse was built long before Devon built theirs and so many more examples).

It's a great company that's really changing the face of OKC and it's about time they start getting the well earned respect they deserve.

[SkyWestOKC]

Of course chk would rank higher than devon. Spending at chesapeake is out of control, including to the employees. Their financial records are not impressive, and they are to their eyeballs in debt. Devon is a much more stable company. To me chesapeake is the family member who spends money they don't have to impress others, while devon is much more modest. Sure they are building a huge skyscraper, but they paid for it and aren't in debt for it. Devon doesn't feel the need to own shopping centers and grocery stores....

[BG918]

OKC is very lucky to have both Chesapeake and Devon. Can you imagine the city without them? NW 63 & Western would look the same as it did in 1990. The Thunder would not be playing downtown. There would not be any boathouses. There would not be a skyscraper under construction. Devon and Chesapeake also support thousands of high-paying jobs either directly or indirectly tied to their operations.

[Larry OKC]

Of course chk would rank higher than devon. Spending at chesapeake is out of control, including to the employees. Their financial records are not impressive, and they are to their eyeballs in debt. Devon is a much more stable company. To me chesapeake is the family member who spends money they don't have to impress others, while devon is much more modest. Sure they are building a huge skyscraper, but they paid for it and aren't in debt for it. Devon doesn't feel the need to own shopping centers and grocery stores....

Aren't they putting retail etc within the Devon tower complex (a shopping center of sorts) & what about hotels? LOL

[SkyWestOKC]

Devon is paying for it from their cash. Chesapeake is borrowing money for it. If you have the money, by all means. If you don't, it's not wise to keep spending like you got it. Chesapeake's spending is out of control and unsustainable. It will only be a matter of time before they get bought out or go under and their assets are bought at a firesale.

[SkyWestOKC]

Also, Devon is doing this on 1 square block, that they now own. Chesapeake, on the other hand, is paying millions of dollars per acre for land, and then spending money to develop it!

[Larry OKC]

No argument there, much better to do it with cash than to borrow to the hilt (if that's what CHK is indeed doing). Was just pointing out that Devon also is interested in retail and a hotel. Now if you can just convince Devon to get a grocery down there...

[bombermwc]

Did you guys miss American Fieldity too??? I thought it was pretty amazing that little-oke OKC had 3 companies on that list. I think only NYC has as many. I didn't count every town though.

[SkyWestOKC]

I think its safe to say, chesapeake is more devoted to their real estate and development business than devon is.

[td25er]

Did you guys miss American Fieldity too??? I thought it was pretty amazing that little-oke OKC had 3 companies on that list. I think only NYC has as many. I didn't count every town though.

All 3 have been on the list for years.

[Jethrol]

I wouldn't agree that CHK spending is out of control. They're growing in more ways than just real estate....and much of their developments will turn into cash that will help satisfy debt. In fact, I can't remember the last time I heard about CHK issuing a new debt instrument of some sort. Back in 2008/2009, you heard about these all the time.....but not today.

It's easy to point the finger at CHK and say, meh....spending money like a drunken sailor, can't last. I've been saying that since the mid 90s. They've been making liars out of a lot of people for decades now. It would not be smart to bet against them.

And don't tell me the stock price is reflective of their value. That's a non-starter. They carved out a HUGE portion of assets and took it public.....CHKM. This should have added downward pressure on their stock price but it didn't. That tells me that this huge midstream company was not reflected in CHKs stock price.....and it still isn't. They still have a huge midstream presence that isn't public and isn't reflected in their stock price.

[Spartan]

I think its safe to say, chesapeake is more devoted to their real estate and development business than devon is.

I think Chesapeake is committed to being the Google-like working environment of Big Oil.

[MikeOKC]

I think its safe to say, chesapeake is more devoted to their real estate and development business than devon is.

For better or worse. IMO, they're playing with dynamite (no pun intended) and if something were to happen to CHK, and their presence in Oklahoma City...well...let's just say I.M. Pei will be forgotten.

I know CHK has their defenders on this board and I understand. They have spent huge dollars to satisfy employees - no question. But, Chesapeake is the latest poster boy for corporate irresponsibility. There's just no getting around that. Yes, they're taking on the debt issue - under direct fire. And as a reminder, the SEC sometimes takes years to investigate abusive use of shareholder funds and then - the boom is lowered. Don't be surprised if there's a desk at the SEC with "Chesapeake" written all over it.

[Jethrol]

I don't get it. Are you guys actually paying attention?

Chesapeake's debt levels are DROPPING not increasing. Yes in the past they were taking on huge amounts of debt but not anymore....they've been steadily paying it down.
http://ycharts.com/companies/CHK/long_term_debt

DOH...nevermind....just noticed the slight uptick at the end of the graph. I guess we'll see when they release their EOY reports in a few weeks.

[Jethrol]

This should be good news for all you haters.
http://www.plattsenergyweektv.com/st...9544&catid=293

Chesapeake shifts focus to reducing debt

Cuts 2-year output growth forecast to 25% from up to 40% | Washington -- Chesapeake Energy will shift its focus from acquiring land and scaling up natural gas drilling to reducing debt and throttling back on production growth, the Oklahoma City-based company said January 6 in its quarterly update on operations.

Chesapeake's "25/25 plan" calls for the company to retire about $3 billion, or 25%, of its $11.4 billion in long-term debt over the next two years by reducing its leasehold spending and monetizing more of the leases it already holds-indicating a future full of joint ventures and volumetric production payment plans in which investors pay up front for future gas output.

That means Chesapeake, the second-largest US gas producer, will reduce its planned production growth rate from between 30% and 40% to 25% over the next two years, the company said.

"This plan represents a fundamental shift from our aggressive asset accumulation of the past few years to a multi-year period of asset harvest, characterized by a clear focus on capital discipline and maximizing returns," CEO Aubrey McClendon said.

Chesapeake's earlier strategy of budgeting a lot of cash for leases and drilling, then later finding ways to recoup that money through JV partnerships or VPPs, routinely made the markets nervous.

In this updated version, Chesapeake will apparently still engage in VPPs and take on JV partners. But instead of using the cash to expand its leaseholds in US shale plays, the company will reduce debt.

"Potential transactions in the first half of 2011 that could be part of this initiative include a joint venture in the DJ/Powder River basins, a second joint venture in Appalachia, and the initial public offering of Frac Tech," Barclays Capital analyst Jeffrey Robertson said.

Chesapeake owns a 25% stake in Cisco, Texas-based Frac Tech, which manufactures hydraulic fracturing solutions and sells fracking services. Last month, Frac Tech filed for a $690 million initial stock offering.

"Doubters will say this is the third or fourth time Chesapeake has promised to change its behavior, only to go back each time," Jefferies & Company analyst Bijou Perincheril said. "We are of the opinion that the company could actually follow through on its plans this time because of Carl Icahn's involvement."

Billionaire corporate raider Icahn has been in talks with Chesapeake management over the past two months while building a 5.8% stake in the producer. "Is the strategic shift a response to shareholders?" analysts at Tudor Pickering Holt asked.

Five years ago, when Icahn pushed another Oklahoma City energy producer, Kerr-McGee, to make changes to maximize shareholder value, Icahn's top suggestion was to sell more VPPs to generate immediate cash.

Asked how much influence Icahn had on Chesapeake's latest change in direction, McClendon said the idea of cutting debt predates Icahn's arrival.

"We have had a strategy to significantly reduce debt in place since May 2010, and our '25/25 Plan' is simply an extension of that strategy," McClendon said. "We are always engaged in ongoing discussions with shareholders regarding our strategy and financial plans, and we believe this updated plan and reaction in our stock price today is evidence of their continued support."

The market clapped politely at Chesapeake's plan, with the stock up 1% to $26.67/share.

Whatever direction Chesapeake moves in, the producer is well insulated against low gas prices this year, according to the January 6 announcement. Chesapeake said it has 96% of 2011 gas production hedged around an average NYMEX price of 5.84/MMBtu, well above current prices in the $4.50/MMBtu range.

Chesapeake also said its total fourth-quarter production of gas, liquids and oil averaged 2.9 Bcf/d of gas equivalent, 4% below the previous quarter but 11% above the fourth quarter of 2009. Chesapeake said that consisted of about 2.6 Bcf of gas and 59,500 barrels of oil and natural gas liquids.

The company also said its full-year 2010 production averaged about 2.8 Bcfe/d, 14% above the 2.5 Bcfe/d average in 2009.

Chesapeake said its preliminary estimate of year-end 2010 proved reserves was about 16.9 Tcfe, roughly 18%, or 2.6 Tcfe, above year-end 2009 estimates.

During 2010, the company said it added about 4.8 Tcfe of proved reserves through drilling at an estimated drilling and completion cost of less than $1.15/Mcfe and added roughly 200 Bcfe of proved reserves associated with positive price-related revisions.

The company replaced its 1 Tcfe of production with about 3.6 Tcfe of proved reserves for a replacement rate of about 350%.

Bill Holland

[brownb01]

^^OnCue is good enough!!!!

LOL! Not hardly!

[brownb01]

I don't get it. Are you guys actually paying attention?

Chesapeake's debt levels are DROPPING not increasing. Yes in the past they were taking on huge amounts of debt but not anymore....they've been steadily paying it down.
http://ycharts.com/companies/CHK/long_term_debt


DOH...nevermind....just noticed the slight uptick at the end of the graph. I guess we'll see when they release their EOY reports in a few weeks.

yes, they are reducing debt and haven't taken out anything new in quite some time. SKywest has not a clue what's he's talking about. Like someone else already said...CHK has been sticking it to the nay sayers for 20 years.

[Pete]

In fairness, there has been lots of criticism of CHK from many corners, including some of their largest shareholders and Wall Street analysts. The sudden emergence of Carl Icahn is certainly casting a dark shadow.

I think everyone here really, really wants Chesapeake to succeed but at the same time are scared to death that they are going to drive themselves into the ground or be blown apart in a hostile takeover. In either of those scenarios OKC would be left with some huge real estate and economic scars.


Having said all that, it's almost impossible to measure the positive impact that both Devon and CHK have had on OKC. A big part of the recent growth, prosperity and improved image is due to both of them.

[Jethrol]

In fairness, there has been lots of criticism of CHK from many corners, including some of their largest shareholders and Wall Street analysts. The sudden emergence of Carl Icahn is certainly casting a dark shadow.

Yep, except for the fact that he only owns 5% of the company and when he met with the CHK leadership, they had the same ideas. If anything, I think he will help them stay on task.

I think everyone here really, really wants Chesapeake to succeed but at the same time are scared to death that they are going to drive themselves into the ground or be blown apart in a hostile takeover. In either of those scenarios OKC would be left with some huge real estate and economic scars.

Very true....fears about repeating what happened to our economy after Penn Sq Bank failed are not unfounded.

Having said all that, it's almost impossible to measure the positive impact that both Devon and CHK have had on OKC. A big part of the recent growth, prosperity and improved image is due to both of them.

You know....the best seem to need a nemesis to help them drive to be even better. I look at CHK and Devon like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frasier.