Chesapeake Energy's former CEO Aubrey McClendon would have wanted to answer the charges of bid-rigging filed against him by the Justice Department's Anti-Trust Division last March 1. A fatal car crash the next day removed that chance permanently. McClendon's vehicle collided against the wall of a bridge overpass the next day, March 2.
According to the Atlantic, the Oklahoma police said that McClendon's car swerved left to a grassy area before hitting the embankment. There was ample time to get control of the car and get it back into the road and move to a safer area. For reasons still unknown, McClendon failed.
Only a day before, the prominent leader of one of the country's largest oil and gas companies had denied the charges made against him, for allegedly lowering the prices paid to Oklahoma's leaseholders. McClendon had cited his 35-year record in the industry, his integrity, and his business record. He said he was not "...guilty of violating any antitrust laws."
Reuters says that the indictment against McClendon has significant overtures on the sector that he had pioneered. The process by which energy companies negotiated with private landowners whose properties contain thousands of minerals and other ores has rarely been subjected to legal scrutiny. The McClendon indictment may be an indicator that government prosecutors are taking a tough stand.
The Financial Times says that McClendon's legacy as a pioneer of the shale gas movement that revolutionized the US energy industry will endure. He worked tirelessly to harness gas as a source of energy for power generation as well as fuel for transport. He launched the company he was best known for, Chesapeake Energy, with just a paltry $50,000 in 1989. It still remains the country's second largest producer of natural gas.
"Philosophical disagreements" with the Chesapeake Board had forced his resignation from the company as chairman in 2012, and then as CEO in 2013. That setback, however, did not deter McClendon from securing billions of dollars as well as partnerships to put up the American Energy Partners. Investors had felt confident in the future of AEP while McClendon was at its helm. Chances are that scenario would be re-evaluated because of his unexpected departure.
