As one of the top gas drillers and producers in the U.S., with about 155 rigs running, Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Corp. is a bellwether for gas trends. Then too, chief executive, chairman and founder Aubrey K. McClendon is never shy about stating his views on gas, energy policy or politics-and backing them up with funding where he deems appropriate. Now, his most-recent action to shut in some gas wells has attracted negative scrutiny from the governor of Connecticut, who is asking Congress to investigate possible gas-market manipulation to preserve high prices. In September, Chesapeake announced it would shut in 6% of its net daily gas production, or about 125 million cubic feet, out of a total 1.7 billion it produces daily. And, it said it would reduce drilling temporarily by 10% or about 10 or 15 rigs, to save money. The actions are due to weak gas prices, and to protect the company's long-term shareholder value, McClendon said. For more on this, see the November issue of Oil and Gas Investor. For a subscription, call 713-260-6441.

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