Justice Department is Probing Chesapeake Energy Land Deals

• Joe Wertz
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  Joe Wertz was a reporter and managing editor for StateImpact Oklahoma from 2011-2019. He reported on energy and environment issues for national NPR audiences and other national outlets. He previously worked as a managing editor, assistant editor and staff reporter at several major Oklahoma newspapers and studied journalism at the University of Central Oklahoma.

The U.S Department of Justice is examining whether Chesapeake Energy and Encana colluded to avoid bidding against each other in a public land auction in Michigan, an unnamed source tells Reuters.

The Oklahoma City natural gas giant and Ecanana, Canada’s largest natural gas company, were among the largest bidders for land leases in Michigan’s Collingwood shale play, the news service reported last week.

The DOJ probe follows a separate antitrust investigation by the Michigan Attorney General and that state’s Department of Natural Resources, which oversees such auctions.

“Our commitment is to ensure the integrity of the auction process and to receiving fair market value for public land,” Michigan DNR spokesman Ed Golder tells reporters Diane Bartz and Brian Grow.