Aubrey McClendon Killed in car accident

http://kfor.com/2016/03/02/police-former-ceo-of-chesapeake-aubrey-m...

OKLAHOMA CITY – Police officers confirm that a man killed in a car wreck early Wednesday morning is the former CEO of Chesapeake Aubrey McClendon

On Wednesday, firefighters were called to a car wreck on Midwest Blvd., between Memorial and 122nd St.

Officials say one person died at the scene when the vehicle hit a bridge in the area.

Photo from Midwest Blvd. accident

Photo from Midwest Blvd. accident

On Wednesday afternoon, KFOR learned that the driver of that vehicle was Aubrey McClendon, the former CEO of Chesapeake.

Officials with the Oklahoma City Police Department held a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, confirming the fatality is McClendon.

Capt.  Paco Balderrama says police are still investigating the crash, but added that he was traveling at a “high rate of speed,” well over the posted speed limit.

fatal crash

Balderrama says McClendon died instantly from the crash. After that, the 2013 Chevy Tahoe caught fire.

“He pretty much drove straight into the wall,” Balderrama said. “The information out there at the scene is that he went left of center, went through a grassy area right before colliding into the embankment. There was plenty of opportunity for him to correct and get back on the roadway and that didn’t occur.”

The accident occurred less than 24 hours after McClendon was indicted by a federal grand jury.

Aubrey McClendon

Aubrey McClendon

McClendon, 56, retired from Chesapeake in 2013 and became the CEO of American Energy Partners.

“It is with deep sadness that AELP confirms that earlier today, its founder, Aubrey K. McClendon died in a car accident on Midwest Boulevard in Oklahoma City. Aubrey’s tremendous leadership, vision, and passion for the energy industry had an impact on the community, the country, and the world. We are tremendously proud of his legacy and will continue to work hard to live up to the unmatched standards he set for excellence and integrity. We will deeply mourn his loss and please join us in expressing our condolences to his family,” a statement from American Energy Partners read.

McClendon was also a partial owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Read more: http://kfor.com/2016/03/02/police-former-ceo-of-chesapeake-aubrey-m...

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Permalink Reply by Barb Smith on March 2, 2016 at 2:08pm
Getting indicted by the DOJ will make you feel like driving into a wall
Permalink Reply by Frank Walker on March 3, 2016 at 3:15am

Agreed.  That's why it's never going to happen to Hillary.

Permalink Reply by Barb Smith on March 2, 2016 at 2:12pm
I guess 10 yrs in a federal prison might make you do that too if you can't man up and do your time
Permalink Reply by patrick on March 2, 2016 at 3:26pm

There use to be a presumption of inocense.

When Dick Grasso was charged with a crime by Elliot Spitzer he was lucky enough tKen Langone and others come to his defense before he was ruined financialy.. End the end he was fuilty.

Permalink Reply by Keith Mauck (Site Publisher) on March 2, 2016 at 5:00pm

This is an interesting read by Allen Gilmer, CEO of Drillinginfo

I read the following on Bloomberg this morning about Aubrey McClendon's indictment for allegedly fixing a mineral lease auction on Oklahoma.

Chesapeake Founder McClendon Indicted Over Lease Bid Rigging

I nearly blew the coffee out my nose.

Aubrey McClendon... indicted for keeping lease costs down.  What delicious irony. All this time, I (and tens of thousands of other oil people) credited Mr. McClendon with increasing the normal price of leasing minerals by 10-100 times or more what they had ever been historically... the man responsible for the most massive transfer of wealth via wildly inflated lease bonuses to US mineral owners in the history of mankind.  In a purely rational world, St. Aubrey in Mineral Owner Heaven, if not in the world of those that competed against him.

How did this happen?  Prior to McClendon's spectacular entrance into the world of unconventional hydrocarbons, the price of oil and gas leases ranged from a buck an acre to a hundred, $250 if it was a lay down guaranteed oil or gas well. As the Barnett Shale Play unfolded, the concept that EVERY acre was productive began to blossom, and soon, $500 an acre, which only a short time before seemed outrageous, was now the new norm.  

Chesapeake was the very first company to recognize the Unconventional Revolution as a land grab, and that IF every location was drillable, a case could be made for making a step change value redetermination for what they could pay for leasing those minerals; a step change that would create massive barriers to entry by inflating the price of acreage until the ability to put together sizeable blocks was available only to the very best capitalized or those able to raise massive amounts of capital.  Enter Chesapeake and Aubrey McClendon.  Raising massive amounts of capital is at the very core of McClendon's sweetspot... happily coupled to his ability to flip his deals for outsize returns to hungry, typically non American, buyers... 

Soon, every farmer with 160 acres of minerals in Oklahoma went from being able to buy a new pickup truck every few years to being able to buy their very own Caribbean island, due, in large part, to Chesapeake and Aubrey McClendon.

I still remember when Chesapeake exited the Barnett Shale play for the Haynesville.  They had literally hundreds or thousands of bank drafts in the hands of mineral owners who had not yet executed their leases... holding out for just a bit more.  Chesapeake made the suprise announcment that they were done in the Barnett.  Any unsigned lease would not be honored; their bank drafts worthless. They would honor those that had been signed to that date, and had set up a meeting at a local church to get the paperwork finalized for those lucky few that had signed.  Several hundred holdouts and their lawyers showed up at that meeting screaming to be included, to no avail.  The price of acreage in the Barnett never recovered. More than a few attorneys were exposed for providing bad business advice without a license, disguised as "legal advice". Uncomfortable conversations followed between attorney and mineral owner about why, exactly, had they been advised to turn down the lease offer.   Fortunately, for these advisors, bad business advice ISN'T malpractice. No rules against that.  If anyone doubts that Chesapeake was the principle driver of value in unconventionals, watch what happened when Chesapeake departed the plays they were in.

So, all my oilfield brethren... apparently we were wrong!  He was keeping lease costs down!  They better hope they don't get any old timer Oklahoma oilmen on that jury.  That argument is not going to find many takers amongst those that have to eke a living from the special Hell that is leasing to those mineral owners who once tasted the ambrosia of $15,000 an acre minerals.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/irony-aubrey-mcclendons-indictment-a...

Permalink Reply by Trapper on March 3, 2016 at 12:17am
Suicide is sad for loved ones left behind. He got what he wanted , as always , and now will pay dearly forever.
Permalink Reply by Booger on March 3, 2016 at 5:02am

he could have been texting his BFF.........that concrete was not far from the road.....distracted driving.....that would explain the no skids or swerves......and as far as going faster than the speed limit, well lots of people do that

Permalink Reply by Joe on March 3, 2016 at 7:01am

No

Mike MurphyPermalink Reply by Mike Murphy on March 3, 2016 at 2:11am

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Energy tycoon Aubrey McClendon earned a reputation .

McClendon, who co-founded Chesapeake Energy and served as its CEO before stepping down in 2013, was accused Tuesday of orchestrating a scheme between two large energy companies, which were not named in an indictment, from December 2007 to March 2012. The companies would decide ahead of time who would win bids, with the winner then allocating an interest in the leases to the other company, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.

In a statement released just hours before his death, McClendon fiercely denied the allegations and vowed a fight to clear his name.

"Anyone who knows me, my business record and the industry in which I have worked for 35 years, knows that I could not be guilty of violating any antitrust laws," McClendon said in the statement. "All my life I have worked to create jobs in Oklahoma, grow its economy, and to provide abundant and affordable energy to all Americans."

McClendon, part owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder, was renowned for his aggression and skill in acquiring oil and gas drilling rights. As drillers learned to unlock natural gas from shale formations using hydraulic fracturing over the last decade, McClendon pushed the company to acquire enormous tracts of land in several states.

"We've completely transformed the natural gas industry, and I wouldn't be surprised if we transform the oil business in the next few years too," McClendon told the AP in a 2011 interview.

The strategy landed the company promising assets, boosted its own production and helped fuel the national boom in natural gas production. Chesapeake's 20-acre campus sprawls through an exclusive area of Oklahoma City, its Georgian-style brick buildings surrounded by manicured lawns and sycamore and elm trees.

But the acquisitions also saddled the company enormous debt, and Chesapeake eventually became victim of its own success. Natural gas prices plummeted along with all the new drilling, reducing revenues for the company and making the debt harder to repay.

McClendon left Chesapeake in January 2013 amid philosophical differences with a new board of directors, and founded American Energy Partners, where he was chairman and CEO.

"Aubrey's tremendous leadership, vision, and passion for the energy industry had an impact on the community, the country, and the world," AEP said in a statement. "We are tremendously proud of his legacy and will continue to work hard to live up to the unmatched standards he set for excellence and integrity."

McClendon could frequently be spotted in his courtside seats near the Thunder bench in the arena named after the company he founded in 1989 with his friend, Tom Ward, with an initial $50,000 investment.

Thunder head coach Billy Donovan said he addressed the team after learning of McClendon's death.

"He always treated me very, very well," Donovan said. "He was a very generous guy, and I'm just really saddened by what happened today."

Fellow energy magnate and Oklahoma native T. Boone Pickens described McClendon as a "major player in leading the stunning energy renaissance in America

Permalink Reply by Barry D on March 3, 2016 at 2:25am

Can't say I knew him, only what I read in news stories.

But it is sad that he had all of that wealth and influence and is dead at such an early age.

Permalink Reply by Vi Omlor on March 3, 2016 at 2:51am
It's for the Lord to judge the man but we can judge his actions.
Permalink Reply by Dan Lease on March 3, 2016 at 7:16am

I lost a great best friend on November 10 2015 in Barnesville.......his loss to my/our families life was/still is terrible.  His family and friends are ever so grieving and it's the same terrible time!  So many prayers for the family and closest of friends. 

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