American Energy Partners

We always thought Aubrey McClendon could sell snow to Eskimos–as the now-politically incorrect but old saying goes. Aubrey can charm money out of your grandmother. At last check more than a year ago he’d raised $8.7 billion of OPM–other people’s money–for use in his aggressive drilling ventures (see Aubrey McClendon Raises Huge $8.7B for Shale Drilling…So Far). We’re pretty sure that number exceeded $10B at some point over the past year. But then this year we began to hear whispers that Aubrey wasn’t paying his bills (see Problematic: McClendon’s AEP Not Paying Some of its Bills). And then Bloomberg published a hit-piece saying Aubrey had sold his investors a bill of goods (see Has Aubrey McClendon Finally Hung Himself with High Debt?). Indeed it appears the bloom is off the money-raising rose for Aubrey. According to inside sources, Aubrey has hired investment banks (plural) to help him find more money to keep going…
Read More “Bloom Off the Rose? McClendon $eeks Help from Investment Banks”

Three weeks ago MDN told you that Aubrey McClendon and his American Energy Partners had made their first foray into international oil and gas drilling (see Aubrey McClendon Leases 21.5 MILLION Acres…in Australia?!). McClendon’s move was to lock up acreage under lease, which is how he typically operates, and figure out how to finance the drilling later. Once he got going, Aubrey just couldn’t help himself. He didn’t stop with 21.5 million acres as originally announced–he kept right on going and ended up cutting four deals Down Under for a total of an eye-popping 55 million acres! And he’s working on a deal for ANOTHER 10 million acres!! Here’s the details as we know them…
Read More “McClendon Nearly Triples Australian Shale Deal – 55M Acres!”

We don’t know how he does it, but it seems Aubrey McClendon can charm money out of just about anyone. Not even two weeks ago we told you that McClendon cut a deal to lease 21.5 million acres in Australia for shale drilling (see Aubrey McClendon Leases 21.5 MILLION Acres…in Australia?!). Apparently not content with the U.S. and Australia, McClendon announced today he’s charmed money out of Mexico’s EIM Capital to “jointly pursue” opportunities in oil and gas drilling south of the border. The press announcement below seems to indicate that McClendon is the one doing the investing–into EIM Capital. But that makes no sense. McClendon is up to his eyeballs in debt (see Has Aubrey McClendon Finally Hung Himself with High Debt?). Which leads us to say, Aubrey has the unusual ability to charm money from just about anyone (and make them think Aubrey’s the one doing the investing!)…
Read More “Aubrey McClendon Takes on the World: New JV in Mexico”

It’s not often that MDN writes about natural gas drilling in Australia. This time there’s a tie-in with the Utica/Marcellus. Aubrey McClendon, former CEO of Chesapeake Energy ejected from the company he-cofounded by an evil corporate raider (Carl Icahn); Aubrey McClendon, founder of American Energy Partners and subsidiary American Energy Appalachia Holdings that has since fled and become its own company called Ascent Resources; Aubrey McClendon, who could charm a billion dollars from Satan himself and leave old Lucifer smiling at being shafted; that Aubrey McClendon has just signed a deal with an Australian company to secure the rights to drill on 21.5 MILLION acres Down Under (in Australia). This is Aubrey’s first foray outside of the United States–and boy what a splash he’s making! Never mind McClendon’s Ascent Resources is saddled with so much debt it can’t repay that Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the company to its lowest rating level, meaning “Substantial risks – In default” (see Has Aubrey McClendon Finally Hung Himself with High Debt?). Apparently McClendon’s recent track record here at home doesn’t bother the Aussies. They’ve just leased to a bona fide celebrity!…
Read More “Aubrey McClendon Leases 21.5 MILLION Acres…in Australia?!”

Ever hear of a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC? How about a “blank check company”? No, neither had we. The man who once described himself as the biggest fracker in the world, Aubrey McClendon, filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 7 to float an initial public offering (or IPO) for a company called Avondale Acquisition Corp., which describes itself in the filing as a “newly organized blank check company” that will “focus on potential mergers or other deals with existing businesses in the onshore U.S. oil and gas sector.” It is, in a sense, just a different pocket being sewn onto Aubrey’s trousers from which he can dip his hand in and pull out money placed there by other people–to buy more leases and operations in places like the Utica and Marcellus. How much money does Aubrey hope to find in that pocket? About $200 million…
Read More “Aubrey McClendon’s New “Blank Check Company” Looks to Raise $200M”