Chesapeake Energy Corporation is an American exploration and production company, headquartered in Oklahoma City. In 2021, the company produced per day, of which 69% was natural gas, 24% was petroleum, and 7% was natural gas liquids. As of December 31, 2021, the company had of estimated proved reserves, of which 69% was natural gas, 23% was petroleum, and 8% was natural gas liquids. History The company was founded in 1989 by Aubrey McClendon and Tom L. Ward with an initial investment of $50,000. McClendon named the company after Chesapeake Bay due to his love of the region. Ward left the company in 2006 to establish SandRidge Energy. In 1993, the company became a public company via an initial public offering, with a valuation of $25 million. Focusing on a strategy of drilling horizontal natural gas wells in unconventional reservoirs, the company built a sizable position in the Golden Trend and Sholem Alechem fields of South-central Oklahoma and in the Giddings field of Southeast Texas. In the mid-1990s, the company unsuccessfully attempted to extend the Austin Chalk play into western and central Louisiana. In 1997, the company wrote down the value of its assets by over $200 million, approximately equal to shareholder's equity at the time, due to low commodity prices and implemented a turnaround plan. In the early 2000s, after a rise in natural gas prices made it economically feasible, the company focused on unconventional drilling in carbonates, tight sandstone, and shale particularly in the Barnett Shale, Fayetteville Shale, and the Marcellus Formation. In 2006, the company was added to the S&P 500. It was removed from the index in 2018. In 2008, the company announced its discovery of the Haynesville Shale in East Texas and northwestern Louisiana. In 2009, the company partnered with Orange County Choppers to create the first chopper powered by compressed natural gas. In 2011, Chesapeake Energy agreed to a 12-year naming rights partnership with the Oklahoma City Thunder for naming and branding rights of the Paycom Center at a cost of $3 million per year, with annual increases of 3%. On April 20, 2021, the agreement was terminated. In June 2012, in response to shareholder concerns about corporate governance issues under McClendon's watch, the company appointed Archie W. Dunham as chairman, while Aubrey McClendon remained CEO. In December 2012, the company sold midstream assets for $2.16 billion. Effective April 1, 2013, Aubrey McClendon was forced