Chesapeake Energy: 4 Things You Must Know

By Joel South and Taylor Muckerman – Dec 20, 2012 at 12:06PM

OTC: CHKA.Q

Chesapeake Energy

Chesapeake Energy's plans to bring down its debt, the catalyst that is about to send the company soaring, its new liquids game plan, and how it will be affected by natural gas prices in the near future.

Chesapeake Energy (CHKA.Q) took another step toward lowering its net debt by selling $2.16 billion in midstream assets to Access Midstream Partners (NYSE: ACMP). After closing the deal, Chesapeake will meet its debt reduction goals as set by management in its 25/25 plan. With a large collection of valuable assets and an improved balance sheet, will Chesapeake's share price start to increase?

For this to happen, Chesapeake will need to continue its focus on improving its oil production growth by harvesting its assets in liquid-heavy plays. Also, with no natural gas hedges in place for 2013, Chesapeake will need natural gas prices to continue their upward trend. For the complete picture, check out the video below.

Joel South has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Taylor Muckerman has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. The Motley Fool owns shares of Ultra Petroleum and has the following options: long JAN 2013 $16.00 calls on Chesapeake Energy, long JAN 2014 $20.00 calls on Chesapeake Energy, long JAN 2014 $30.00 calls on Chesapeake Energy, short JAN 2014 $15.00 puts on Chesapeake Energy, long JAN 2014 $30.00 calls on Ultra Petroleum, long JAN 2014 $40.00 calls on Ultra Petroleum, long JAN 2014 $50.00 calls on Ultra Petroleum, and short JAN 2014 $20.00 puts on Ultra Petroleum. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend Chevron and Ultra Petroleum. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.