Tim McCoy to run for Oklahoma County DA?

From a email I received:

It is almost official, we will have a Tea Party candidate for the OKC District Attorney race. Tim McCoy, he comes well recommended. We have a meeting set up for Sunday, he will file on Monday.

As I understand it, the D.A. was set as the highest law enforcement officer in the county in Oklahoma after the Mack/Prinze decision, so it is vital that we get our guy into the office. As the highest official, only he could send the feds packing according to the Supreme Court. This would also be a stick in the eye of the establishment.

But, With the major 3-D chess 'Power' Game that is being play out right now at the State Capitol, in Oklahoma County, and in the so call Mainstream Media (ie old media, like newspaper) by the Liberal, RINO, Left, Baby Killer, Pro Illegal Immigration, CAIR-OK, Gay, Green, Chamber of Commerce (Thugs) Group.

Is McCoy DOA?

Will the Oklahoma County GOP

and

the Oklahoma State GOP

be AWOL in this race?

Let hope not!

Aubrey McClendon Selling Off His Prized Wine?

Is Aubrey McClendon
Selling Off His Prized Wine?

Even though the market for collectible wines is slumping, Sotheby’s recently announced it will sell off 9,000 bottles in two auctions in March and April. The sale is titled “Classic Cellar from a Great American Collector.”

It is large by any standard. But what really caught my eye was the statement in Sotheby’s news release that the sale is a “single owner collection,” meaning that it is all coming from one seller’s cellar.

Who is this “Great American Collector?” And why would he or she try to unload 9,000 bottles at a time when wine prices are collapsing?

Sotheby’s won’t say. Jamie Ritchie, head of Sotheby’s North American wine department, was uncharacteristically silent when I asked about the seller. “Sorry, I just can’t comment,” he said.

According to three people familiar with the auction, the seller is Aubrey McClendon, chief executive of Chesapeake Energy. These people say at least one other broker kicked the tires on Mr. McClendon’s collection before it went to Sotheby’s.

McClendon is one of the top wine collectors in the country, known for his love of Burgundy and Bordeaux. He also is known for his cash crunch. Last fall, he was forced to sell 94% of his stake in Chesapeake to pay back margin loans. Mr. McClendon’s stake once was valued at more than $2 billion. So it wouldn’t be surprising if he were to want to liquidate some of his, er, liquid assets.

Mr. McClendon, through a spokesman, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Sotheby’s says it expects the sale to fetch at least $5 million–not much for a former billionaire, but these days every little million helps.

It also remains to be seen whether the auction will be a success. An article in the San Francisco Chronicle quotes experts saying that lot prices for wines at auction have fallen as much as 30% since the summer. Some bottles, like 1986 Leoville-Las-Cases, averaged around $360 a bottle in the past two years but are now trading closer to $200. (For those interested in current wine prices, Steve Bachmann of Vinfolio has an informative blog analyzing auctions, valuations and advice for sellers and buyers).

The McClendon collection may fare better than others. It features more than 1,500 bottles of Domaine de la Romanee Conti–a favorite Chateaux of the nouveaux that has held up relatively well in price. The collection also has plenty of Mouton Rothschild, Margaux and Lafite, also blue-chip names.

What is more, Sotheby’s is hedging its bets by splitting the auction in two, with half being offered in New York and half in Hong Kong. While U.S. collectors are pulling back, Hong Kong collectors have proven more resilient, with recent auctions there posting healthy results. (Sotheby’s is shipping 4,000 or more of the bottles in temperature-controlled containers to Hong Kong, something it has never done before).

Mr. McClendon may be the biggest wine seller so far in the financial crisis, but he most certainly won’t be the last. With many collectors running light on cash, I suspect more and more will turn to their wine cellars in search of real liquidity.

Devon Energy announces dividend

Look like Devon
is doing GREAT !

Unlike Aubrey
LOL

Devon Energy Corporation today announced that its board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend on Devon's common stock for the fourth quarter of 2008.

The dividend is payable on Dec. 31 at a rate of $0.16 per share based on a record date of Dec. 15.

Nov. 5, Oklahoma City’s Devon Energy Corporation reported 2008 third-quarter results. For the quarter that ended Sept. 30, the energy company’s net earnings totaled $2.6 billion or $5.92 per common share ($5.87 per diluted share), a 256-percent increase versus the 2007 third quarter.

Compared to the 2006 third-quarter, Devon’s 2007 third-quarter net earnings increased $30 million from $705 million to $735 million and their common share jumped from $1.59 to $1.65 ($1.57 to $1.63 per common diluted share). The increase from $735 million to $2.6 billion ($1.65 to $5.92 per common share) is the company’s highest ever quarterly earnings, officials said.

Chesapeake Energy to sell $1.8B stock for cash

In the Dark of Night, Chesapeake Energy Corp. is seeking to raise up to $1.8 billion through common stock sales in an effort to fund its activities.

In two filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Wednesday, the company said it will issue shares worth as much as $1 billion before fees and also registered 50 million shares worth at most $791 million for potential sale.

Chesapeake said it will use proceeds from the $1 billion offering for general corporate purposes, and other capital expenditures.

The move would dilute holdings of shareholders, who already suffered through a substantial decline in Chesapeake's stock price this year. Shares closed at $20.24 on Wednesday, off 73 percent from the stock's $74 52-week high set this summer.

But the company said cash flow, borrowings and cash on hand have not been enough to pay for capital expenditures.

Chesapeake has used up the remaining financing available under its $3.5 billion bank credit facility and only $251 million is left of another $460 million credit line. Credit markets remain tight with financial institutions under duress.

Chesapeake has hedged about 73 percent of its remaining natural gas and oil reserves in 2008 and 67 percent of expected production in 2009 at average prices of $9.09 and $8.65 per thousand cubic feet equivalent (Mcfe), respectively. In Nymex trading Thursday, natural gas for January delivery slid 9.7 cents to $6.781 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The company has cut back on its capital expenditure budget through 2010 in light of global economic distress and concerns about oversupply of natural gas in the U.S. market.

In September, BP PLC's U.S. arm said it plans to buy a 25 percent stake in Chesapeake's Fayetteville Shale assets in Arkansas for $1.9 billion. A month earlier, BP said it had bought similar Chesapeake assets in Oklahoma for $1.7 billion.

Earlier this month, Chesapeake sold even more natural gas assets to Norwegian energy company StatoilHydro for $3.38 billion.

Chesapeake get sues over royalties

Chesapeake Energy faces a state lawsuit over royalties that a state commission claims have been underpaid.

The suit was filed Friday in Roger Mills County District Court by the Commissioners of the Land Office, also known as the School Land Trust. The commission, which manages federal trust and assets, claims the Oklahoma City-based company has not paid it the proper amount of royalties.

Chesapeake officials declined comment on the lawsuit.

"We generally don't discuss active legal issues except in the proper venue, where we will effectively defend the company's position," said Henry Hood, the general counsel and senior vice president of land and legal for Chesapeake, the largest producer of natural gas in the U.S.

Like other energy companies, Chesapeake has wells on trust land managed by the commission. The profit from mineral leases and land sales helps fund public education.

The lawsuit claims that Chesapeake owes additional royalties from its sale of oil and gas collected from wells on trust-managed land. It also said that Chesapeake should not deduct post-production costs from its royalty payments.

"Defendants have taken ... actions designed to unjustly enrich defendants and to increase defendant's profits at the expense of the CLO," the commission said in the lawsuit.

Court documents indicate that the commission thinks Chesapeake owes it more than $10,000, but the lawsuit doesn't list a specific amount.

James Dupre, an attorney for the land office, said that since 1987, it has audited accounts of the lease holders in an effort to make sure the commission receives the proper amount of royalties from oil and natural gas wells.

Such income provides about 69.2 percent of the amount the land office distributed to common education in 2007.

Boo Woo - More bads news for Chesapeake LOL

Boo Woo
More bads news for
Chesapeake
LOL

And this is just the tip of
what to come : )

Just three months after its inception, Chesapeake Energy Corp. said it would cancel development of Shale.TV, an online news channel designed to provide factual information about shale development the Oklahoma City-based company said was not being presented thoroughly enough by area news organizations.

In an e-mail, Jerri Robbins, public relations manager, said the move comes in response the “economic challenges” faced by the country and the industry.

“As tough as it is for us to make this decision, it nevertheless represents a move to focus our resources and activities on natural gas exploration and production in our key Barnett, Haynesville, Fayetteville, and Marcellus shale gas plays,” Robbins said in the statement. When asked, she declined to disclose how much money the company expected to save from the program’s cancellation.

Chesapeake Energy announced the public relations initiative July 10 when it tapped longtime Texas newsman Tracy Rowlett, previously an anchor at KTVT Channel 11, producer Olive Talley and local journalist John Sparks to lead the news channel. Texas Christian University-graduate Adam Fox and Ashley White, a television reporter from Oklahoma City, also were employed.

At the time, Chesapeake Energy’s Julie Wilson, vice president for corporate development, said the channel would fill a void for area residents seeking in-depth information about natural gas drilling and production.

“We have heard repeatedly and consistently from residents, critics, supporters, lessors, city staff, government officials and civic leaders about the lack of consumer-friendly educational information available to the public about issues and opportunities related to natural gas drilling, production and pipelines, particularly as they relate to an urban environment,” Wilson said in the July 10 press release.

Shale.TV has been slated to debut in September, but a company representative later said the channel would debut in mid-October.

“…we hired the very best journalists we could find to head this innovative endeavor for us,” Robbins said in the e-mail. “They have been tirelessly working to produce a high-quality program covering an assortment of developments pertaining to the Barnett and other shale plays. Tracy Rowlett, Olive Talley and John Sparks are true professionals and represent the best of the best in journalism. We are deeply disappointed that their extraordinary work will not be seen.”

Robbins said she did not know what arrangements the company made with Shale.TV employees.

Shale.TV Reporter Adam Fox said he enjoyed his time at Shale.TV but understands its cancellation strictly was a “business decision” handled with “compassion.”

“My work was intended to be educational and informational for the public so they could be better informed about natural gas drilling in the Barnett Shale and other shale plays around the nation,” Fox said in an e-mail to the Business Press. “I am very pleased with the stories I wrote, shot, and edited. It’s just unfortunate that the public won’t get a chance to see all of the great work everyone has done here. I know that it would have helped people better understand what’s happening around their communities and homes.”

Chesapeake Execs Flood Roth With Cash

Anybody think its odd that
Denise Bode,
now work for a
Aubrey McClendon/Chesapeake Energy PUPPET ?

Funny how things work out. LOL

Chesapeake's employees
big givers in race
By MICK HINTON AND TOM LINDLEY World Capitol Bureau

OKLAHOMA CITY — Employees of Chesapeake Energy Corp., the state's largest natural gas producer, have sunk more than $100,000 into Jim Roth's bid to retain his seat on the state Corporation Commission, an analysis by the Tulsa World shows.

More than 80 Chesapeake employees have contributed at least $1,000 each to the campaign of Roth, a Democrat running against Republican Dana Murphy.

Roth sided with Chesapeake in a key vote last October involving construction of a coal-fired power plant.

"I've never had a contributor ask for anything in return and they must know that they would never get it,'' Roth said.

With five weeks to go before the Nov. 4 election, Roth's fundraising efforts already have set a record for a Corporation Commission race and could reach $1 million before it's over.

A former Oklahoma County commissioner, Roth was appointed to the three-member Corporation Commission by Gov. Brad Henry last year after Denise Bode resigned. Roth and Murphy, an Edmond lawyer and former administrative law judge for the commission, are vying to fill the remaining two years of Bode's term.

Through the Aug. 11 campaign reporting period, Roth had raised $884,143.18 and had $652,805.89 to spend. Murphy had raised $324,307.30 through the same period but only reported a balance of $60,965 after winning a Republican Party primary battle against Rob Johnson of Kingfisher.

Roth's campaign has received maximum $5,000 contributions from a number of prominent Democrats and Republicans, including Tulsa oilman George Kaiser; Clay Bennett, chairman of the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA franchise; Enid oilman Harold Hamm; Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor; former University of Oklahoma and Dallas Cowboys coach Barry Switzer; and oilman (T.) Boone Pickens.

Other Tulsans who have given $5,000 contributions to Roth's campaign are David Chernicky, George Krumme, Janet McGehee, Robert Price, Stuart Price, Joe Robson and Stacy Schusterman.

So far, 104 Chesapeake employees have contributed $100,675, including 82 who have given Roth $1,000 each, often on the same day, according to reports filed with the state Ethics Commission.

Aubrey McClendon, chairman and CEO of Chesapeake, gave a maximum contribution of $5,000, as did Energy for Oklahomans, a political action committee for the company.

Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Chesapeake is Oklahoma's largest natural gas producer and the third-largest overall producer of natural gas in the United States.

Last year, McClendon led a campaign against the proposed Red Rock coal-fired power plant. Two of the state's largest utilities, American Electric Power-Public Service Company of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co., wanted to build the plant.

Roth and Commissioner Jeff Cloud voted to deny pre-approval of the plant, which effectively stopped the project.

Roth said the Red Rock debate was not about which fuel should be used to generate electricity. Rather, he said, it was about whether ratepayers should be asked to pay for the costs of the plant before it was put into operation.

"When I stood up to the utilities and said no to their $2 billion plan and advocated using Oklahoma fuel for Oklahomans, I'm sure that it did attract support of employees and businesses here in Oklahoma because they know I'm working for Oklahoma," Roth said.

State and federal law prohibits corporations from contributing to candidates, although individual employees can, as long as they are not coerced into giving and their giving is not carried out by the corporation itself.

Marilyn Hughes, executive director of the Ethics Commission, said that when employers start specifying amounts and to whom, it might appear that an employee's job is dependent on making a contribution.

"I do think that giving the exact amount, giving it on the same day to the same candidate would be facts that would have to be considered to determine whether there was coercion," she said.

Tom Price, Chesapeake's vice president of communications, said Thursday that his corporation is careful to follow the law regarding campaign giving.

"I am extraordinarily proud of the fact that our employees get involved in the political process," he said.

Price said it was the perspective of many Chesapeake employees that Murphy had not been fair in her rulings as an administrative law judge at the Corporation Commission.

In response, Murphy asked: "What do people from the financial department and human relations know about me?"

Price also said Chesapeake employees supported Cloud in his 2002 race against Murphy.

In 2002, Cloud received $37,800 from Chesapeake employees, campaign reports filed with the state Ethics Commission show. Cloud has received $12,500 from Chesapeake employees so far this year.

Price said he finds Roth to be "an analytical and sophisticated decision maker who works as hard as any public official that I have ever had engagement with."

Roth and Murphy are involved in a hard-fought race dominated by contributions from donors associated with the oil and gas industry, which is regulated by the commission along with public utilities, telephone companies and interstate transportation. The regulated industries are traditionally among the largest donors in previous commission races.

Roth said he has strong support from people all across Oklahoma in every type of job because he "has been working very hard for a year and a half to serve Oklahoma."

He said he is building a large campaign fund because "the work is important and a positive message always costs more in a tough political environment."

Murphy said her grassroots campaign features contributors chiefly from independent oil and gas producers who often have five or fewer employees.

"I think it is fascinating that my opponent says he is a consumer advocate when it appears the majority of his money comes from the wealthy," she said.

In the other commission race, Cloud, a Republican who was born in Tulsa and now lives in Oklahoma City, is competing against former state representative Charles Gray, a Democrat from Oklahoma City, in a race for a six-year term. Cloud raised $313,055.90 through Aug. 11, compared with $17,728 for Gray.

JMA wins appeal of Chesapeake lawsuit

JMA wins appeal of Chesapeake lawsuit
by Janice Francis-Smith
The Journal Record July 31, 2008

OKLAHOMA CITY – Robert D. McCutcheon, vice president and general counsel for JMA Energy Company LLC, is happier now than he was a year ago. In June 2007, the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals ruled JMA was not entitled to prejudgment interest in its lawsuit against Chesapeake Energy because the case had been settled out of court.

But the case had not been settled out of court.

“The perceived settlement agreement did not exist,” said McCutcheon. “I don’t know how that happened,” said McCutcheon, regarding the court’s false impression the case had been settled. Attorneys representing both energy companies explained to the court no settlement had been reached.

The lack of a settlement rendered the appeals court’s ruling, which was based on state laws governing settlement agreements, inapplicable. So the court agreed to hear the case again – and this time, the verdict was in favor of JMA.

JMA had sued Chesapeake Exploration LP in the District Court of Roger Mills County, claiming Chesapeake had breached written agreements between the parties by failing to timely offer JMA the right to acquire a proportionate share of certain oil and gas interests Chesapeake had acquired. JMA accepted Chesapeake’s offer to pay JMA revenues dating back to the dates of first production for the wells in question, less JMA’s proportionate share of expenses. But JMA sought 12-percent prejudgment interest under the provisions of the Production Revenue Standards Act, or PRSA.

The trial court agreed with JMA, ordering Chesapeake to pay prejudgment interest at 12 percent up to the date the principal was paid and interest at 6 percent until the date judgment was entered, as well as post-judgment interest. Chesapeake appealed, arguing not only that JMA was not entitled to prejudgment interest, but also charging that the law providing prejudgment interest is unconstitutional. Chesapeake’s attorneys claimed the law attempts to impose a specific rate of interest, at 12 percent, in a contract wherein the parties had not agreed on a rate of interest, making the law unconstitutional.

The Court of Civil Appeals ruling in 2007 did not address the merits of the case; rather, the court found the law regarding prejudgment interest was not applicable due to the mistaken impression that the lawsuit had been settled. Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, the court agreed to consider the case again.

And this time, Attorney General Drew Edmondson and the Coalition of Oklahoma Surface and Mineral Owners weighed in on the matter, each issuing briefs in support of JMA’s arguments. The court agreed with the attorney general’s defense of the constitutionality of the PRSA.

“The oil and gas industry has been heavily regulated by the federal and state governments for many years as a consequence of industry discriminatory practices,” the appeals court found in its more recent ruling, issued July 23, 2008. Oklahoma state government has created several laws to protect interest owners and to remove the economic incentive for delaying payment. Enforcing the prejudgment interest law thus serves public policy, the court found. The court also ordered Chesapeake to pay JMA’s attorney fees.

Chesapeake now has a limited amount of time in which to decide whether to challenge the ruling by appealing to the state Supreme Court.

Chesapeake Announces the Appointment of Burns Hargis to Chesapeake’s Board

Hat Tip to my friend Jenn @ Green Country Values

Chesapeake Energy Corporation Announces
the Appointment of V. Burns Hargis to
Chesapeake’s Board of Directors

OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) today announced the appointment of V. Burns Hargis to the Chesapeake Board of Directors effective September 15, 2008, to serve until the 2009 annual meeting of shareholders when he will stand for election by Chesapeake’s shareholders. Mr. Hargis currently serves as the President of Oklahoma State University and the OSU System.

Mr. Hargis was named the 18th President of Oklahoma State University and the OSU System in December 2007 and took office on March 10, 2008. OSU is one of the nation’s most preeminent land-grant university systems with more than 32,500 students, 7,400 employees and campuses located in Stillwater, Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Okmulgee. Before being named OSU President, Mr. Hargis had a long and distinguished legal and business career. He was Vice Chairman of the Bank of Oklahoma from 1997 to 2008 and before joining the Bank of Oklahoma, he practiced law in Oklahoma City for 28 years, most recently with the firm of McAfee & Taft.

Mr. Hargis graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1967 with a degree in accounting and received his juris doctorate degree from the University of Oklahoma School of Law in 1970. In 1967, Mr. Hargis entered the United States Army as a Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, Military Intelligence, and was honorably discharged as a Captain, U.S. Army Reserves, in 1977. Mr. Hargis is a former president of the Oklahoma County Bar Association, former president of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Mr. Hargis previously served as vice-chairman of the Oklahoma State Election Board, the Oklahoma Constitutional Revision Commission, chairman of the Oklahoma Commission for Human Services, chairman of the Board of Regents for the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges of Oklahoma State University and a member of the Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Mr. Hargis was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of Oklahoma in 1990 and is also familiar to many Oklahomans for his role on the award-winning television program “Flashpoint.”

With the addition of Mr. Hargis, Chesapeake’s Board now has nine members. Management is represented by Aubrey K. McClendon, the company’s co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Other Board members are Richard K. Davidson of Bonita Springs, Florida; Frank Keating of Washington, D.C.; Breene M. Kerr of Blue Hill, Maine; Charles T. Maxwell of Bronxville, New York; Pete Miller of Houston, Texas; Don Nickles of Washington, D.C. and Frederick B. Whittemore of New York City. Mr. Hargis will serve on the Audit Committee of the Board.