Chief O&G Founder “Licking His Chops” to Buy Distressed Assets

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Forbes magazine has a fascinating article on the founder and chairman of Chief Oil & Gas, Trevor Rees-Jones. Chief did have a fairly big presence in the Marcellus Shale, but last September they closed their Wexford (i.e. Pittsburgh) office, a story that MDN broke (see Chief O&G Confirms MDN Story re Closing of Pittsburgh Office). Chief still owns about 200,000 acres of leases in the Marcellus. Trevor Rees-Jones has the misfortune of sharing the same name with the body guard present when Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car crash--so don't be confused. The Forbes article focuses on Rees-Jones' uncanny timing. He snapped up leases and drilled wells when the shale revolution was just getting under way, and he sold many of those assets just prior to the bottom dropping out of the price for oil and gas. His deft timing earned him on the order of $7 billion. Now, with the industry reeling and companies teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, Rees-Jones, a bankruptcy attorney by training, says "I'm licking my chops." He can't wait to be there to pick up the pieces by buying at the bottom to make his next fortune...

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