Chesapeake Energy Eyes the Utica Shale Oil Find

Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon on Monday commented on a new, oil-rich discovery in the Utica shale of eastern Ohio, which is just west of the Marcellus shale in western Pennsylvania.

The Utica could be a "transformative" find for the country, McClendon said. He expects that up to 25,000 wells could be drilled in the Utica over the next several decades, which is a $200 billion investment. It could produce 25 billion barrels of oil equivalent in the form of oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas in what he described as possibly "one of our biggest discoveries in U.S. history."

McClendon compared the Utica find to past successful discoveries and said Chesapeake had acquired the most leases in the area. He declined to detail results from 15 test wells, citing competitive reasons. The field has gas, liquid-rich gas and oil, he said.