Internal investigation clears Encana of collusion allegations with Chesapeake by Jay F. Marks, September 5, 2012, NewsOK
Canadian natural gas giant Encana Corp. has concluded company officials did not collude with rival Chesapeake Energy Corp. to lower the cost of land acquisitions in Michigan in 2010, Reuters reports. … A Chesapeake spokesman declined to comment Wednesday on the latest Reuters report. The company has denied any wrongdoing in Michigan, where officials said it had considered a possible joint venture with Encana that was never consumated. Encana’s board of directors, which led the investigation launched on June 25 with the assistance of outside attorneys, did not provide Reuters with a report on the scope of the inquiry, nor explain how it reached its conclusion. “We can’t offer more detail than what we’ve released as the issue is still under investigation by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and the Michigan Attorney General,” Encana spokesman Jay Averill said in an email to Reuters. Chesapeake also is facing inquiries from the IRS and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as an internal review by its board of McClendon’s personal finances. McClendon is scheduled to speak Thursday morning at an industry conference in New York, his first such appearance since April. Southeastern Asset Management, Chesapeake’s largest shareholder, has advised McClendon to focus on running the company rather than acting as an industry advocate.
[Refer also to: EnCana faces California gas price-fixing trial ]