Chesapeake Energy CHK.O, a top U.S. natural gas producer, has begun laying off employees this week after completing the divestiture of its oil assets last year. The company said the layoffs follow its divestment of its Eagle Ford assets, not the company’s pending merger with Southwestern Energy SWN.N.
Chesapeake did not specify the size or scope of the layoffs, but the move comes after the company in 2022 said it would exit the Eagle Ford shale field in south Texas, making it a pure-play natural gas producer. In early 2023, it sold some of those assets to INEOS Energy for $1.4 billion, and later that year completed the divestiture by selling the remaining assets to SilverBow Resources for $700 million.
The Oklahoma City, Oklahoma-based company is also in the process of completing a $7.4 billion merger with Southwestern Energy. That deal is set to close in the second half of this year, later than originally anticipated after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sought additional information.
Natural gas producers have been hit this year by low prices, which fell some 20% in the first quarter due to high inventories and softer-than-expected demand. Chesapeake missed Wall Street estimates for profit, and many companies – including Chesapeake – have curtailed production as a response.
As part of the merger deal, the company will replace current General Counsel Benjamin Russ with Southwestern General Counsel Chris Lacy, according to a regulatory filing on May 7.