The move toward more profitable oil and natural gas liquids instead of lower-margin dry natural gas, combined with ongoing efforts to cut costs, has led Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. to step up its efforts to sell more than two dozen Fort Worth area properties.
Chesapeake spokeswoman Julie Wilson confirmed Monday that the company is considering selling the company's 20-story regional headquarters in Fort Worth.
“We've been saying for quite a while that we are open to leasing out space or selling the building if we have an appropriate offer,” said Wilson, vice president of corporate development for Chesapeake's Texas operations. “To my knowledge we have not formally listed it for sale, but we have for quite some time said we are amenable to leasing out space or taking offers that come in.”
Chesapeake paid $104 million in 2008 to buy the building from retailer Pier 1, according to county records. The Tarrant County assessor values the property at $62 million, down from $72 million in 2009.
Selling the Fort Worth properties could remove millions of dollars of Chesapeake's operating costs and funnel more than $100 million to the company.
But it would have little effect on Chesapeake's broader effort to sell $13 billion to $14 billion this year and a total of $17 billion to $19 billion by the end of 2013 to cut costs and pay down debt, industry analyst Fadel Gheit said.
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