OKLAHOMA CITY -- Aubrey McClendon, 56, an Oklahoma wildcatter who helped pioneer the shale energy boom, died in a car crash Wednesday, a day after he was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring to rig the price of oil and gas leases, reported The Wall Street Journal.
Mostly known as an upstream oilman, he does have a downstream retail connection: In August 2007, McClendon, the chairman and CEO of natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp., opened a new private business venture based on his fond memories of soda and Route 66--Pops 66 in Arcadia, Okla.
The soda shop is also a gas station a gas station with a full convenience store and restaurant. The station has 12 dispensers, offering unbranded gasoline and diesel supplied by Star Fuels of Oklahoma LLC. The location also offers Pops 66 and Route 66 merchandise, as well as some merchandise from some local "made-in-Oklahoma" vendors. It also features a 66-foot-tall pop bottle and windows lined floor to ceiling with thousands of sodas.
Pops 66 opened a second location in Nichols Hills, Okla., in early 2015.
McClendon co-founded Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy in 1989. Under his leadership, Chesapeake became one of the biggest U.S. natural-gas producers. McClendon exited his CEO post of Chesapeake in 2013 after a shareholder revolt led by activist investor Carl Icahn. Following his departure, he founded American Energy Partners LP, also based in Oklahoma City.
In 2008, McClendon teamed up with energy billionaire T. Boone Pickens to endorse his “Pickens Plan” to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil. They touted natural gas as a good choice of fuel for cars.
A federal grand jury indicted McClendon on March 1 on antitrust charges. Federal investigators alleged that he conspired with an unnamed company to rig bids on oil and gas leases in Oklahoma, holding down land prices between 2007 and 2012 while he was running Chesapeake. If convicted, the former CEO of Chesapeake Energy would have faced years in prison. McClendon vigorously contested the charges in a statement Tuesday evening.
Oklahoma City police said Wednesday that McClendon was found dead after driving into a concrete wall at a speed well above the 40-mph hour limit. He was alone in the car. Authorities have not determined the cause of the crash, said the report.
In a statement posted to its website, American Energy Partners thanked “numerous investors and industry friends for the tremendous outpouring of support for the company and for the McClendon family. While all of the employees of AELP are deeply saddened by this tragic event, we are firm in our conviction that Aubrey would want us to persevere and continue his extraordinary legacy of innovation and creativity.
Scott R. Mueller, Ryan A. Turner, and Thomas J. Blalock, Aubrey’s leadership team, added "We are proud to have worked for Aubrey and to have been a part of starting seven institutionally funded businesses under his leadership. One of Aubrey’s many skills was recruiting, motivating and retaining the industry’s strongest talent and each of the businesses that Aubrey created … is led by a dedicated management team that is positioned for success in the years to come. While Aubrey’s absence will leave a tremendous void on the [AEP] platform, we employ a talented team of individuals that will be available to support, if needed, the existing businesses and it will carry on the new business development tradition established by our founder, friend and mentor, Aubrey K. McClendon.”
In a statement provided to CSP Daily News, Chesapeake Energy said, “Chesapeake is deeply saddened by the news that we have heard today and our thoughts and prayers are with the McClendon family during this difficult time.”
McClendon was survived by his wife, Katie, and three children.
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