Pennsylvania Assembly Investigate Chesapeake Energy

On April 18, Reuters broke a story about the largest natural gas producer in the country, Chesapeake Energy. CEO Aubrey McClendon reportedly took 1.1 billion dollars in loans "from three companies that list Chesapeake Energy HQ as their address." Chesapeake Energy was rated as a buy by Goldman Sachs and other investing firms, but was rated as bankrupt, neutral, or dump by Jefferies, Standard and Poor's, and CitiGroup (to name a few).

Recently a Pittsburgh Post Gazette article, "Chesapeake Energy CEO capitalizing today on tomorrow's profits in West Virginia's farmland," stated that Chesapeake Energy has been obtaining mortgages, which could be bundled and traded (where have we seen this before?) so the company can gather capital to pay rent payments and gas royalties.

In Pennsylvania, Chesapeake Appalachia has 191 wells, with 208 violations and fines over 1.15 million dollars. Chesapeake Energy has put forth little regard for the environment of our commonwealth, but now they may be playing a role in contaminating the state's local economy. In this petition I am asking the Pennsylvania House, Senate, and governor to open an investigation into Chesapeake's financial practices because the people who have the potential of being harmed in this "Enron" scandal are the lower/middle class men and women.