Total SA Enters Barnett Shale Play in Joint Venture with Chesapeake Energy

SUGAR LAND--January 5, 2009--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--On January 4, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) and Total E&P USA Incorporation (Houston, Texas), a subsidiary of Total SA (NYSE:TOT) (Paris, France), announced the formation of a joint venture partnership involving Chesapeake's Barnett Shale assets. The $2.25 billion deal was signed December 30, 2009, and is expected to achieve regulatory approval before the end of January. Total will acquire 25% of Chesapeake's upstream Barnett Shale assets, the equivalent of approximately 175 million cubic feet of gas equivalent production per day.