Chesapeake Energy Corp., the kingpin of Ohio?s shale gas boom, has been taking plenty of hits lately with the latest coming from an advocacy group that wants Ohio Attorney Mike DeWine to investigate the company?s finances.
In a letter to DeWine earlier this week, Ohio Citizen Action asked him to get answers to a number of questions about Chesapeake (NYSE:CHK), including what the group called the company?s ?shameful record of disclosure to investors and government.?
As we have reported, Chesapeake has had more than its share of problems with shareholders and government regulators this spring. It?s a big deal in Ohio because the Oklahoma City-based company is by far the largest lease holder in the Utica shale play in eastern Ohio.
Gov. John Kasich repeatedly has said development of the state?s shale gas resources can be an economic game changer for Ohio. Citizen Action, a group that works to prevent pollution, takes that a step farther in its letter, saying Kasich is ?hinging his economic strategy for the state on the success of a single company (Chesapeake).?
The group also said there is plenty of precedent for an Ohio attorney general to investigate a company with the sort of influence that Chesapeake has in the state. It noted how former AGs Betty Montgomery and Rich Cordray went after companies such as Enron Corp.? and a number of financial companies implicated in the nation?s and state?s financial plunge in 2008.
Earlier this year, DeWine filed suit against BP on behalf of the state?s public pension systems. The suit claims the pension funds were hurt by a drop in BP?s stock price in 2010 after the company allegedly misrepresented its safety practices before the massive oil spill off the Gulf Coast in 2010.
Jeff Bell covers public policy, utilities, energy and the business of sports for Business First.
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