Chesapeake Energy Corporation Increases Term Loan to $4.0 Billion Based on Strong Investor Demand

  Chesapeake Energy Corporation Increases Term Loan to $4.0 Billion Based on
  Strong Investor Demand

Business Wire

OKLAHOMA CITY -- May 15, 2012

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) today announced it has increased the
size of a previously announced unsecured term loan from Goldman Sachs Bank USA
and affiliates of Jefferies Group, Inc. from $3.0 billion to $4.0 billion
based on strong investor demand. The loan was syndicated to a large group of
institutional investors and priced at 97% of par. The net proceeds of the loan
to Chesapeake, after customary fees and syndication costs, of approximately
$3.8 billion will be used to repay borrowings under the company’s existing
corporate revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes. The
loan carries an initial variable annual interest rate through December 31,
2012 of LIBOR plus 7.0%, which is currently 8.5% given the 1.5% LIBOR floor in
the loan agreement. The loan, which ranks pari passu with Chesapeake’s
outstanding senior notes, matures on December 2, 2017 and may be repaid at any
time in 2012 without penalty at par value.

Chesapeake expects to use a portion of the proceeds from planned asset sales
to repay the loan in full before the end of 2012. Giving effect to the
increase in the size of the loan, the company currently has more than $4.7
billion of liquidity including unrestricted cash on hand and available
borrowing capacity under its revolving bank credit facilities.

Aubrey K. McClendon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “We
appreciate this strong vote of confidence from investors. As discussed in
yesterday’s conference call, this will give us greatly enhanced financial
flexibility to execute our planned asset sales from a position of strength and
to complete our transformation from a natural gas-focused producer to a more
balanced liquids-focused producer.”

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) is the second-largest producer of
natural gas, a Top 15 producer of oil and natural gas liquids and the most
active driller of new wells in the U.S.Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the
company's operations are focused on discovering and developing unconventional
natural gas and oil fields onshore in the U.S.Chesapeake owns leading
positions in the Marcellus, Haynesville, Bossier, and Barnett natural gas
shale plays and in the Eagle Ford, Utica, Mississippi Lime, Granite Wash,
Cleveland, Tonkawa, Niobrara, Bone Spring, Avalon, Wolfcamp and Wolfberry
unconventional liquids plays.The company has also vertically integrated its
operations and owns substantial marketing, midstream and oilfield services
businesses directly and indirectly through its subsidiaries Chesapeake Energy
Marketing, Inc., Chesapeake Midstream Development, L.P. and Chesapeake
Oilfield Services, L.L.C. and its affiliate Chesapeake Midstream Partners,
L.P. (NYSE:CHKM).Further information is available at www.chk.com where
Chesapeake routinely posts announcements, updates, events, investor
information, presentations and news releases.

This news release includes "forward-looking statements" that give Chesapeake's
current expectations.Although we believe the expectations reflected in our
forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance they will
prove to have been correct.They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions or
by known or unknown risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ
from the expectation expressed.We may be unable to complete our planned asset
monetizations as scheduled or at all, and they may not generate the proceeds
we are anticipating.In such event, we would be required to seek funds to repay
the term loan from other sources, including alternative asset
monetizations.Our ability to consummate asset monetizations is dependent upon
market conditions and other factors beyond our control.We caution you not to
place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, which speak only as of
the date of this news release, and we undertake no obligation to update this
information.

Contact:

Chesapeake Contacts:
Jeffrey L. Mobley, CFA, 405-767-4763
jeff.mobley@chk.com
or
John J. Kilgallon, 405-935-4441
john.kilgallon@chk.com
or
Media Contacts:
Michael Kehs, 405-935-2560
michael.kehs@chk.com
or
Jim Gipson, 405-935-1310
jim.gipson@chk.com