Aubrey McClendon’s reign as US shale king came to a stunning halt when a shareholder revolt saw him fired from Chesapeake Energy.
The 55-year-old soon found himself on the outside of an empire he helped build – brick by brick.
Early in his career, Aubrey was instrumental in unearthing the US shale revolution, ultimately creating a Chesapeake portfolio which rivalled industry giants like Exxon Mobil’s trappings. But his 25-year track record soon took a back seat when he was unceremoniously fired last year amid a conflict-of-interest probe.
However, the industry pioneer has wasted no time plotting his own massive comeback.
Aubrey has since raised $10billion to snap-up gas fields as a part of new strategy to launch a collection of companies that each specialise in a single US shale region.
Aubrey revealed the new strategy at a press conference in Dallas.
The tactic is a veer off course the entrepreneur who built Chesapeake on a transcontinental strategy. As part of his new venture, American Energy Partners, he’s now focusing on a stretch of pipelines from Appalachia to the Great Plains.
The new venture will also see him lead two blind pool investment start-ups, which aim to amass drilling rights across the country.
Speaking at presentation at the Hart Energy’s A&D Strategies and Opportunities event, he said: “They’ll go public. They’ll have their own management.”
Aubrey’s financial backers currently include First Reserve.