Future is bright for these gas producers

Article Excerpt

CHESAPEAKE ENERGY $23.51 (New York symbol CHK; SI Rating: Extra risk) (405-848-8000; www.chkenergy.com; Shares outstanding: 654.3 million; Market cap: $15.4 billion; Dividend yield: 1.3%) is a major U.S. natural-gas producer. Gas makes up 90% of its production. Chesapeake focuses on onshore conventional and unconventional gas reserves. It has a leading position in nearly every major unconventional discovery in the U.S. east of the Rockies, including the Barnett Shale in Texas; the Haynesville and Bossier Shales in Louisiana and Texas; the Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas; the Marcellus Shale in the West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York; and the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas. Shale gas is natural gas that is trapped in rock formations. To extract it, companies use highly pressurized water and sand to crack the shale. Extraction methods are constantly improving, and steadily increasing shale-gas production. Chesapeake’s production averaged 3.0 billion cubic feet equivalent per day in the three months ended September 30, 2010, up 22.5% from 2.5 billion a year earlier…