Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) will have to renegotiate more than 4,400 land leases in New York and pay $250,000 as part of a settlement with the state, the New York attorney general’s office disclosed Thursday.
The decision forces Chesapeake to allow other natural-gas producers to bid on certain leases Chesapeake holds that expire by Dec. 31, 2013. Chesapeake would then have to match the other bid price or give up the lease, according to the attorney general’s office.
The settlement stemmed from Chesapeake’s previous attempts to hold on to leases past the original dates agreed to by landowners without renegotiating terms. Chesapeake argued that it could hold the leases until New York state’s Department of Environmental Conservation completed a review on the effects of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
via Chesapeake Energy Settles with New York on Lease Renegotiations | Fox Business.
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