2008-09-02-2008-06-16-2008-07-16

Acquired 20% WI for deep rights of 10,250 net acres and 50% WI in 10,500 net acres for deep rights in Caddo, DeSoto parishes, LA.

Chesapeake Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, (NYSE: CHK) has closed its acquisition of a 50% joint-venture agreement with Houston-based Goodrich Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: GDP) to develop the deep rights to Goodrich's Haynesville shale acreage in the Bethany-Longstreet and Longwood fields of Caddo and DeSoto parishes, Louisiana, for $173 million. Chesapeake acquired the deep rights only of approximately 10,200 net acres comprised of a 20% working interest in approximately 25,000 net acres in Bethany-Longstreet Field and a 50% working interest in approximately 10,500 net acres in Longwood Field. Chesapeake will be operator of the joint venture for the Haynesville shale development. Goodrich retained 100% of the shallow rights through the base of the Cotton Valley sand and the existing production and reserves with respect to its 70% interest in Bethany-Longstreet Field and its 100% interest in Longwood Field. It also retained its interest in both the shallow and Haynesville shale rights on all of its East Texas assets. Horizontal development of the Haynesville shale for the joint venture is expected to begin in the third quarter with one rig dedicated to the play and a second rig to be added during the fourth quarter. Additionally, Goodrich has increased its net ownership of Haynesville rights in East Texas and currently estimates approximately 38,500 net acres for the Haynesville shale in the Minden and Beckville field areas in Panola and Rusk counties, Texas. The recently added net acreage increases the company's total net exposure in the Haynesville in northwestern Louisiana and East Texas, excluding the company's acreage in the Angelina River trend, to approximately 60,500 net acres. Gil Goodrich, Goodrich chief executive, says, "We look forward to initiating our joint-development activities and expect to spud our initial joint horizontal well in the next 30 to 60 days. The two additional wells we have recently drilled in the Minden Field of East Texas provide important incremental data points for the Haynesville shale in the Minden field and we believe further substantiates the reserve potential for the Haynesville on our 100%-owned East Texas acreage." He says the approximately $365 million in proceeds from the Chesapeake transaction and a recent equity offering raising $191.4 million led by J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. have dramatically strengthened its balance sheet enabling it to expand development activities. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Securities Inc. reports the agreement is "a nice drop in Chesapeake's 500,000-acre Haynesville bucket" and sets a price benchmark at $17,000 per acre, noting that the metrics suggest 40-acre spacing versus the 80-acre spacing currently modeled. The analysts see Goodrich as the big winner, attracting "needed cash, a great partner with rigs, and an opportunity to learn from the best."