In the motion to dismiss on Thursday, the Justice Department said it would “best meet the ends of justice in that the defendant is now deceased”.
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McClendon co-founded Chesapeake alongside Tom Ward and helped establish it as a leader in the US shale natural gas industry.
McClendon, part owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder, was renowned for his aggression and skill in acquiring oil and gas drilling rights. He was expected to turn himself in and appear before a judge at the Oklahoma City federal courthouse on Wednesday, CBS affiliate KWTV reported. He also scored a $1.95 million yearly bonus for another four years, according to financial statements disclosed by Chesapeake.
The companies spun off from American Energy Partners will probably survive while the fate of other, less mature ventures will depend on their individual circumstances, said Rowland, who left Chesapeake in 2010 and went on to found IOG Capital, a Dallas-based energy investment firm.
“He always treated me very, very well”, Donovan said.
Less than 24 hours later, McClendon was killed in a fiery single-car crash around 9 a.m. Witnesses say the 56-year-old swerved and drove his 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe directly into an overpass and the vehicle burst into flames.
“His actions put company profits ahead of the interests of leaseholders entitled to competitive bids for oil and gas rights on their land”, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer said in announcing the charges earlier this week.
Justice Department spokesman Mark Abueg declined Thursday to confirm that Ward and Sandridge are the unindicted co-conspirators or that its investigation into the conspiracy is ongoing. The vehicle burned before rescuers could pull McClendon from the vehicle, police said.
“I’ve known Aubrey McClendon for almost 25 years”, the oil patch billionaire T. Boone Pickens said in a statement Wednesday.
“One of Aubrey’s many skills was recruiting, motivating and retaining the industry’s strongest talent and each of the businesses that Aubrey created with EMG is led by a dedicated management team that is positioned for success in the years to come”, executives including Chief Financial Officer Scott Mueller said in the statement. They eventually grew Chesapeake into one of the largest independent producers of natural gas in the United States. The pioneer of the natural gas boom died instantly, he added.
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McClendon was removed as chairman in June 2012, and stood down as chief executive in January 2013 following “philosophical differences” with the rest of the board.
