A UBREY K. McClendon has found his bonanza underground, in natural gas fields from the mid-continent to West Texas to the Gulf Coast and Appalachia , but lately his other interests have come to the surface at home in central Oklahoma.

McClendon, chairman, chief executive and co-founder of Oklahoma City 's Chesapeake Energy Corp. , is gambling on the risky trifecta that historically has led to riches for forward-t...