CHK » Topics » Bank Credit and Hedging Facilities

This excerpt taken from the CHK 10-Q filed Nov 10, 2008.

Bank Credit and Hedging Facilities

We have a $3.5 billion syndicated revolving bank credit facility that matures in November 2012. As of September 30, 2008, we had $3.474 billion in outstanding borrowings under this facility and had utilized approximately $14 million of the facility for various letters of credit. To ensure that our revolving credit facility could be fully utilized in these turbulent economic times, we borrowed the remaining capacity under our facility at the end of the Current Quarter and invested the cash proceeds in short-term U.S. Treasury and other highly liquid securities. As a result, on September 30, 2008, we had cash and cash equivalents on hand of approximately $1.964 billion. All 36 lenders that participate in our revolving credit facility fully funded their commitment, with the exception of Lehman Brothers Commercial Bank, a subsidiary of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which has filed for bankruptcy protection. Lehman Brothers Commercial Bank did not fund its $11 million share of the advance.

Borrowings under the facility are secured by certain producing natural gas and oil properties and bear interest at our option at either (i) the greater of the reference rate of Union Bank of California, N.A., or the federal funds effective rate plus 0.50% or (ii) London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), plus a margin that varies from 0.75% to 1.50% per annum according to our senior unsecured long-term debt ratings. The collateral value and borrowing base are redetermined periodically. The unused portion of the facility is subject to a commitment fee that also varies according to our senior unsecured long-term debt ratings, from 0.125% to 0.30% per annum. Currently the commitment fee is 0.20% per annum. Interest is payable quarterly or, if LIBOR applies, it may be payable at more frequent intervals. Our subsidiaries, Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C. and Chesapeake Appalachia, L.L.C., are the borrowers under our revolving bank credit facility and Chesapeake and all its other wholly-owned restricted subsidiaries are guarantors.

The credit facility agreement contains various covenants and restrictive provisions which limit our ability to incur additional indebtedness, make investments or loans and create liens. The credit facility agreement requires us to maintain an indebtedness to total capitalization ratio (as defined) not to exceed 0.70 to 1 and an indebtedness to EBITDA ratio (as defined) not to exceed 3.75 to 1. As defined by the credit facility agreement, our indebtedness to total capitalization ratio was 0.47 to 1 and our indebtedness to EBITDA ratio was 2.48 to 1 at September 30, 2008. If we should fail to perform our obligations under these and other covenants, the revolving credit commitment could be terminated and any outstanding borrowings under the facility could be declared immediately due and payable. Such acceleration, if involving a principal amount of $10 million ($50 million in the case of our senior notes issued after 2004), would constitute an event of default under our senior note indentures, which could in turn result in the acceleration of a significant portion of our senior note indebtedness. The credit facility agreement also has cross default provisions that apply to other indebtedness of the company and its restricted subsidiaries that we may have with an outstanding principal amount in excess of $75 million.

On October 16, 2008, we closed a new secured revolving bank credit facility for our non-Appalachian midstream operations, which have recently been restructured under a new unrestricted subsidiary, Chesapeake Midstream Partners, L.P. (CMP). Twelve financial institutions are in the facility bank group. The facility matures in October 2013, has initial availability of $460 million and may be expanded up to $750 million at CMP’s option, subject to additional bank participation. CMP plans to utilize the facility to fund capital expenditures associated with building additional natural gas gathering and other systems associated with our drilling program and for general corporate purposes related to our midstream operations.

The midstream credit facility agreement contains various covenants and restrictive provisions which limit the ability of CMP and its subsidiaries to incur additional indebtedness, make investments or loans and create liens. The credit facility agreement requires maintenance of an indebtedness to EBITDA ratio (as defined) not to exceed 3.50 to 1, and an EBITDA (as defined) to interest expense coverage ratio of not less than 2.50 to 1. If CMP or its subsidiaries should fail to perform their obligations under these and other covenants, the revolving credit commitment could be terminated and any outstanding borrowings under the midstream facility could be declared immediately due and payable. The midstream credit facility agreement also has cross default provisions that apply to other indebtedness CMP and its subsidiaries may have with an outstanding principal amount in excess of $15 million.

 

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We have six secured hedging facilities, each of which permits us to enter into cash-settled natural gas and oil commodity transactions, valued by the counterparty, for up to a stated maximum value. Outstanding transactions under each facility are collateralized by certain of our natural gas and oil properties that do not secure any of our other obligations. The value of reserve collateral pledged to each facility is required to be at least 1.3 or 1.5 times the fair value of transactions outstanding under each facility. In addition, we may pledge collateral from our revolving bank credit facility, from time to time, to these facilities to meet any additional collateral coverage requirements. The hedging facilities are subject to an annual exposure fee, which is assessed quarterly based on the average of the daily negative fair value amounts of the hedges, if any, during the quarter. The hedging facilities contain the standard representations and default provisions that are typical of such agreements. The agreements also contain various restrictive provisions which govern the aggregate natural gas and oil production volumes that we are permitted to hedge under all of our agreements at any one time. The fair value of outstanding transactions, per annum exposure fees and the scheduled maturity dates are shown below.

 

     Secured Hedging Facilities(a)  
     #1     #2     #3     #4     #5     #6  
     ($ in millions)  

Fair value of outstanding transactions, as of September 30, 2008

   $ 88     $ (91 )   $ (160 )   $ (9 )   $ 203     $ (195 )

Per annum exposure fee

     1 %     1 %     0.8 %     0.8 %     0.8 %     0.8 %

Scheduled maturity date

     2010       2013       2020       2012       2012       2012  

 

(a)

Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C. is the named party to the facilities numbered 1 – 3 and Chesapeake Energy Corporation is the named party to the facilities numbered 4 – 6.

Our revolving bank credit facility, the midstream credit facility and the secured hedging facilities do not contain material adverse change or adequate assurance covenants. Although the applicable interest rates and commitment fees in our revolving bank credit facility fluctuate slightly based on our long-term senior unsecured credit ratings, neither of our credit facilities nor the secured hedging facilities contain provisions which would trigger an acceleration of amounts due under the facilities or a requirement to post additional collateral in the event of a downgrade of our credit ratings.

 

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This excerpt taken from the CHK 10-Q filed Aug 11, 2008.

Bank Credit and Hedging Facilities

We have a $3.5 billion syndicated revolving bank credit facility that matures in November 2012. As of June 30, 2008, we had $2.513 billion in outstanding borrowings under this facility and had utilized approximately $6 million of the facility for various letters of credit. Borrowings under the facility are secured by certain producing natural gas and oil properties and bear interest at our option at either (i) the greater of the reference rate of Union Bank of California, N.A., or the federal funds effective rate plus 0.50% or (ii) London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), plus a margin that varies from 0.75% to 1.50% per annum according to our senior unsecured long-term debt ratings. The collateral value and borrowing base are redetermined periodically. The unused portion of the facility is subject to a commitment fee that also varies according to our senior unsecured long-term debt ratings, from 0.125% to 0.30% per annum. Currently the commitment fee is 0.20% per annum. Interest is payable quarterly or, if LIBOR applies, it may be payable at more frequent intervals. Our subsidiaries, Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C. and Chesapeake Appalachia, L.L.C., are the borrowers under our revolving bank credit facility and Chesapeake and all its other wholly-owned subsidiaries except minor subsidiaries are guarantors.

The credit facility agreement contains various covenants and restrictive provisions which limit our ability to incur additional indebtedness, make investments or loans and create liens. The credit facility agreement requires us to maintain an indebtedness to total capitalization ratio (as defined) not to exceed 0.70 to 1 and an indebtedness to EBITDA ratio (as defined) not to exceed 3.75 to 1. As defined by the credit facility agreement, our indebtedness to total capitalization ratio was 0.57 to 1 and our indebtedness to EBITDA ratio was 2.05 to 1 at June 30, 2008. If we should fail to perform our obligations under these and other covenants, the revolving credit commitment could be terminated and any outstanding borrowings under the facility could be declared immediately due and payable. Such acceleration, if involving a principal amount of $10 million ($50 million in the case of our senior notes issued after 2004), would constitute an event of default under our senior note indentures which could in turn result in the acceleration of a significant portion of our senior note indebtedness. The credit facility agreement also has cross default provisions that apply to other indebtedness we may have with an outstanding principal amount in excess of $75 million.

 

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We have six secured hedging facilities, each of which permits us to enter into cash-settled natural gas and oil commodity transactions, valued by the counterparty, for up to a stated maximum value. Outstanding transactions under each facility are collateralized by certain of our natural gas and oil properties that do not secure any of our other obligations. The value of reserve collateral pledged to each facility is required to be at least 1.3 times the fair value of transactions outstanding under each facility. In addition, we may pledge collateral from our revolving bank credit facility, from time to time, to these facilities to meet any additional collateral coverage requirements. The hedging facilities are subject to an annual exposure fee, which is assessed quarterly based on the average of the daily negative fair value amounts of the hedges, if any, during the quarter. The hedging facilities contain the standard representations and default provisions that are typical of such agreements. The agreements also contain various restrictive provisions which govern the aggregate natural gas and oil production volumes that we are permitted to hedge under all of our agreements at any one time. The fair value of outstanding transactions, per annum exposure fees and the scheduled maturity dates are shown below.

 

     Secured Hedging Facilities (a)  
     #1     #2     #3     #4     #5     #6  
     ($ in millions)  

Fair value of outstanding transactions, as of June 30, 2008

   $ (214 )   $ (1,832 )   $ (1,181 )   $ (181 )   $ (273 )   $ (760 )

Per annum exposure fee

     1 %     1 %     0.8 %     0.8 %     0.8 %     0.8 %

Scheduled maturity date

     2010       2010       2020       2012       2012       2012  

 

(a)

Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C. is the named party to the facilities numbered 1 – 3 and Chesapeake Energy Corporation is the named party to the facilities numbered 4 – 6.

Our revolving bank credit facility and secured hedging facilities do not contain material adverse change or adequate assurance covenants. Although the applicable interest rates and commitment fees in our bank credit facility fluctuate slightly based on our long-term senior unsecured credit ratings, the bank facility and the secured hedging facilities do not contain provisions which would trigger an acceleration of amounts due under the facilities or a requirement to post additional collateral in the event of a downgrade of our credit ratings.

 

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This excerpt taken from the CHK 10-Q filed May 12, 2008.

Bank Credit and Hedging Facilities

We have a $3.5 billion syndicated revolving bank credit facility that matures in November 2012. As of March 31, 2008, we had $3.164 billion in outstanding borrowings under this facility and had utilized approximately $4 million of the facility for various letters of credit. Borrowings under the facility are secured by certain producing natural gas and oil properties and bear interest at our option at either (i) the greater of the reference rate of Union Bank of California, N.A., or the federal funds effective rate plus 0.50% or (ii) London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), plus a margin that varies from 0.75% to 1.50% per annum according to our senior unsecured long-term debt ratings. The collateral value and borrowing base are redetermined periodically. The unused portion of the facility is subject to a commitment fee that also varies according to our senior unsecured long-term debt ratings, from 0.125% to 0.30% per annum. Currently the commitment fee is 0.20% per annum. Interest is payable quarterly or, if LIBOR applies, it may be payable at more frequent intervals. Our subsidiaries, Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C. and Chesapeake Appalachia, L.L.C., are the borrowers under our revolving bank credit facility and Chesapeake and all its other wholly-owned subsidiaries except minor subsidiaries are guarantors.

The credit facility agreement contains various covenants and restrictive provisions which limit our ability to incur additional indebtedness, make investments or loans and create liens. The credit facility agreement requires us to maintain an indebtedness to total capitalization ratio (as defined) not to exceed 0.70 to 1 and an indebtedness to EBITDA ratio (as defined) not to exceed 3.75 to 1. As defined by the credit facility agreement, our indebtedness to total capitalization ratio was 0.52 to 1 and our indebtedness to EBITDA ratio was 2.23 to 1 at March 31, 2008. If we should fail to perform our obligations under these and other covenants, the revolving credit commitment could be terminated and any outstanding borrowings under the facility could be declared immediately due and payable. Such acceleration, if involving a principal amount of $10 million ($50 million in the case of our senior notes issued after 2004), would constitute an event of default under our senior note indentures which could in turn result in the acceleration of a significant portion of our senior note indebtedness. The credit facility agreement also has cross default provisions that apply to other indebtedness we may have with an outstanding principal amount in excess of $75 million.

 

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We have six secured hedging facilities, each of which permits us to enter into cash-settled natural gas and oil commodity transactions, valued by the counterparty, for up to a stated maximum value. Outstanding transactions under each facility are collateralized by certain of our natural gas and oil properties that do not secure any of our other obligations. The value of reserve collateral pledged to each facility is required to be at least 1.3 times the fair value of transactions outstanding under each facility. In addition, we may pledge collateral from our revolving bank credit facility, from time to time, to these facilities to meet our collateral coverage requirements. The hedging facilities are subject to an annual exposure fee, which is assessed quarterly based on the average of the daily negative fair value amounts of the hedges, if any, during the quarter. The hedging facilities contain the standard representations and default provisions that are typical of such agreements. The agreements also contain various restrictive provisions which govern the aggregate natural gas and oil production volumes that we are permitted to hedge under all of our agreements at any one time. The stated maximum capacity under each facility, per annum exposure fees, scheduled maturity dates and the fair value of outstanding transactions are shown below.

 

     Secured Hedging Facilities (a)  
     #1     #2     #3     #4     #5     #6  
     ($ in millions)  

Stated maximum value of transactions under facility

   $ 750     $ 500     $ 500     $ 250     $ 500     $ 500  

Per annum exposure fee

     1 %     1 %     0.8 %     0.8 %     0.8 %     0.8 %

Scheduled maturity date

     2010       2010       2020       2012       2012       2012  

Fair value of outstanding transactions, as of March 31, 2008

   $ (90 )   $ (764 )   $ (421 )   $ (76 )   $ (76 )   $ (147 )

 

(a)

Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C. is the named party to the facilities numbered 1 – 3 and Chesapeake Energy Corporation is the named party to the facilities numbered 4 – 6.

Our revolving bank credit facility and secured hedging facilities do not contain material adverse change or adequate assurance covenants. Although the applicable interest rates and commitment fees in our bank credit facility fluctuate slightly based on our long-term senior unsecured credit ratings, the bank facility and the secured hedging facilities do not contain provisions which would trigger an acceleration of amounts due under the facilities or a requirement to post additional collateral in the event of a downgrade of our credit ratings.

This excerpt taken from the CHK 10-K filed Feb 29, 2008.

Bank Credit and Hedging Facilities

On November 2, 2007, we amended and restated our syndicated revolving bank credit facility to increase the borrowing base to $3.5 billion (with commitments of $3.0 billion) and extended the maturity to November 2012. We subsequently increased the commitments under the credit facility to $3.5 billion. As of December 31, 2007, we had $1.950 billion in outstanding borrowings under this facility and had utilized approximately $5 million of the facility for various letters of credit. Borrowings under the facility are secured by certain producing oil and natural gas properties and bear interest at our option of either (i) the greater of the reference rate of Union Bank of California, N.A., or the federal funds effective rate plus 0.50% or (ii) London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), plus a margin that varies from 0.75% to 1.50% per annum according to our senior unsecured long-term debt ratings. The collateral value and borrowing base are redetermined periodically. The unused portion of the facility is subject to a commitment fee that also varies according to our senior unsecured long-term debt ratings, from 0.125% to 0.30% per annum. Currently the commitment fee is 0.20% per annum. Interest is payable quarterly or, if LIBOR applies, it may be payable at more frequent intervals. Our subsidiaries, Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C. and Chesapeake Appalachia, L.L.C., are the borrowers under our revolving bank credit facility and Chesapeake and all its other wholly-owned subsidiaries except minor subsidiaries are guarantors.

The credit facility agreement contains various covenants and restrictive provisions which limit our ability to incur additional indebtedness, make investments or loans and create liens. The credit facility agreement requires us to maintain an indebtedness to total capitalization ratio (as defined) not to exceed 0.70 to 1 and an indebtedness to EBITDA ratio (as defined) not to exceed 3.75 to 1. As defined by the credit facility agreement, our indebtedness to total capitalization ratio was 0.48 to 1 and our indebtedness to EBITDA ratio was 2.16 to 1 at December 31, 2007. If we should fail to perform our obligations under these and other covenants, the revolving credit commitment could be terminated and any outstanding borrowings under the facility could be declared immediately due and payable. Such acceleration, if involving a principal amount of $10 million ($50 million in the case of our senior notes issued after 2004), would constitute an event of default under our senior note indentures which could in turn result in the acceleration of a significant portion of our senior note indebtedness. The credit facility agreement also has cross default provisions that apply to other indebtedness we may have with an outstanding principal amount in excess of $75 million.

We have six secured hedging facilities, each of which permits us to enter into cash-settled oil and natural gas commodity transactions, valued by the counterparty, for up to a maximum value. Outstanding transactions under each facility are collateralized by certain of our oil and natural gas properties that do not secure any of our other obligations. The hedging facilities are subject to an annual exposure fee, which is assessed quarterly based on the average of the daily negative fair value amounts of the hedges, if any, during the quarter. The hedging facilities contain the standard representations and default provisions that are typical of such agreements. The agreements also contain various restrictive provisions which govern the aggregate oil and natural gas production volumes that we are permitted to hedge under all of our agreements at any one time. The maximum permitted value of transactions under each facility and the fair value of outstanding transactions are shown below.

 

     Secured Hedging Facilities (a)  
     #1     #2     #3     #4     #5     #6  
     ($ in millions)  

Maximum permitted value of transactions under facility

   $ 750     $ 500     $ 500     $ 250     $ 500     $ 500  

Per annum exposure fee

     1 %     1 %     1 %     0.8 %     0.8 %     0.8 %

Scheduled maturity date

     2010       2010       2011       2012       2012       2012  

Fair value of outstanding transactions, as of December 31, 2007

   $ 1     $ (144 )   $ (97 )   $ (19 )   $ (37 )   $ (53 )

 

(a) Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C. is the named party to the facilities numbered 1-3 and Chesapeake Energy Corporation is the named party to the facilities numbered 4-6.

 

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Index to Financial Statements

Our revolving bank credit facility and secured hedging facilities do not contain material adverse change or adequate assurance covenants. Although the applicable interest rates and commitment fees in our bank credit facility fluctuate slightly based on our long-term senior unsecured credit ratings, the bank facility and the secured hedging facilities do not contain provisions which would trigger an acceleration of amounts due under the facilities or a requirement to post additional collateral in the event of a downgrade of our credit ratings.

This excerpt taken from the CHK 10-Q filed Nov 9, 2007.

Bank Credit and Hedging Facilities

On November 2, 2007, we amended and restated our syndicated revolving bank credit facility to increase the borrowing base to $3.5 billion (with commitments of $3.0 billion) and extended the maturity to November 2012. As of September 30, 2007, we had $1.950 billion in outstanding borrowings under this facility and had utilized approximately $6 million of the facility for various letters of credit. Borrowings under the facility are secured by certain producing oil and natural gas properties and bear interest at either (i) the greater of the reference rate of Union Bank of California, N.A., or the federal funds effective rate plus 0.50% or (ii) London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), at our option, plus a margin that varies from 0.75% to 1.50% per annum according to our senior unsecured long-term debt ratings. The collateral value and borrowing base are redetermined periodically. The unused portion of the facility is subject to a commitment fee that also varies according to our senior unsecured long-term debt ratings, from 0.125% to 0.30% per annum. Currently the commitment fee is 0.20% per annum. Interest is payable quarterly or, if LIBOR applies, it may be payable at more frequent intervals. Our subsidiaries, Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C. and Chesapeake Appalachia, L.L.C., are the borrowers under our revolving bank credit facility and Chesapeake and all its other wholly owned subsidiaries except minor subsidiaries are guarantors.

The credit facility agreement contains various covenants and restrictive provisions which limit our ability to incur additional indebtedness, make investments or loans and create liens. The credit facility agreement requires us to maintain an indebtedness to total capitalization ratio (as defined) not to exceed 0.70 to 1 and an indebtedness to EBITDA ratio (as defined) not to exceed 3.75 to 1. As defined by the credit facility, our indebtedness to total capitalization ratio was 0.48 to 1 and our indebtedness to EBITDA ratio was 2.28 to 1 at September 30, 2007. If we should fail to perform our obligations under these and other covenants, the revolving credit commitment could be terminated and any outstanding borrowings under the facility could be declared immediately due and payable. Such acceleration, if involving a principal amount of $10 million ($50 million in the case of our senior notes issued after 2004), would constitute an event of default under our senior note indentures which could in turn result in the acceleration of a significant portion of our senior note indebtedness. The credit facility agreement also has cross default provisions that apply to other indebtedness we may have with an outstanding principal amount in excess of $75 million.

We have six secured hedging facilities, each of which permits us to enter into cash-settled oil and natural gas commodity transactions, valued by the counterparty, for up to a maximum value. Outstanding transactions under each facility are collateralized by certain of our oil and natural gas properties that do not secure any of our other obligations. The hedging facilities are subject to an annual exposure fee, which is assessed quarterly based on the average of the daily negative fair value amounts of the hedges, if any, during the quarter. The hedging facilities contain the standard representations and default provisions that are typical of such agreements. The agreements also contain various restrictive provisions which govern the aggregate oil and natural gas production volumes that we are permitted to hedge under all of our agreements at any one time. The maximum permitted value of transactions under each facility and the fair value of outstanding transactions are shown below.

 

     Secured Hedging Facilities (a)  
     #1     #2     #3     #4     #5     #6  
     ($ in millions)  

Maximum permitted value of transactions under facility

   $ 750     $ 500     $ 500     $ 250     $ 500     $ 500  

Per annum exposure fee

     1 %     1 %     1 %     0.8 %     0.8 %     0.8 %

Scheduled maturity date

     2010       2010       2011       2012       2012       2012  

Fair value of outstanding transactions, as of September 30, 2007

   $ 22     $ (158 )   $ (33 )   $ (14 )   $ (1 )   $ (1 )

(a) Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C. is the named party to the facilities numbered 1-3 and Chesapeake Energy Corporation is the named party to the facilities numbered 4-6.

Our revolving bank credit facility and secured hedging facilities do not contain material adverse change or adequate assurance covenants. Although the applicable interest rates and commitment fees in our bank credit facility fluctuate slightly based on our long-term senior unsecured credit ratings, the bank facility and the secured hedging facilities do not contain provisions which would trigger an acceleration of amounts due under the facilities or a requirement to post additional collateral in the event of a downgrade of our credit ratings.

 

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