Chesapeake Reports Net Loss of $4.8 Billion in 2016

OKLAHOMA CITY – The most prolific driller in eastern Ohio’s Utica shale, Chesapeake Energy Corp., announced this morning it posted a net loss of $4.8 billion during 2016, largely driven by noncash impairments of the company’s oil and gas properties caused by depressed commodity prices.

The oil and gas giant reported revenues of $7.87 billion in 2016 compared with revenues of $12.76 billion in 2015. That year, Chesapeake reported a net loss of $14.8 billion.

During the three months ended Dec. 31, 2016, Chesapeake posted a net loss of $741 million on revenues of $2 billion versus a net loss of $2.2 billion on revenues of $2.64 billion during the same period in 2015.

Chesapeake said the loss in 2016 was because of lower commodity prices, lower production volumes, and a decrease in value of the corporation’s oil and gas assets.

Average daily production during the fourth quarter 2016 was approximately 574,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day. In the Utica, where Chesapeake has acquired nearly one million acres in leasehold agreements, production stood at 108,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Chesapeake has throttled back on production in the Utica in the face of lower commodity prices. During the fourth quarter of 2015, the company reported total Utica production at 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.