Political and Trade
Participation
Chesapeake’s participation in government affairs and the political process reflects strict adherence to high ethical standards and the company’s core values of respect, integrity and trust. All activities comply with applicable laws and regulations, promote Chesapeake’s business strategies and are made without regard for the personal political preferences of employees, officers and directors.
Our Government Affairs team actively engages on matters of public policy to help advance the company’s business goals and interests. The team reports directly to our Executive Vice President – General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, who reports to the company’s Chief Executive Officer. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board has ultimate responsibility for overseeing Chesapeake’s political activity.
Chesapeake will never require, pressure or coerce any employee or business partner to make personal political contributions, including to a company-sponsored Political Action Committee (PAC). We also will never take retaliatory action against or compensate anyone, directly or indirectly, for making any political contributions. Chesapeake property, facilities, time and funds may not be used for personal political activities.
We comply with federal, state and local laws that require disclosure of political contributions and lobbying activities. We file reports of receipts and contributions for our PAC as required by the Federal Election Commission and applicable states.
Political Action Committee Activity
Chesapeake sponsors a PAC that allows employees to voluntarily contribute their resources to promote candidates for public office who support our industry. Chesapeake, as the sponsor of this PAC, is committed to educating, energizing and empowering our participating employees to become informed voters who actively participate in our political system at all levels of government.
Contributing to our PAC is strictly voluntary and restricted only to eligible employees as outlined by the Federal Election Commission. All PAC expenditures receive prior approval from the Director – Government & Regulatory Affairs.
PAC expenditures totaled $63,430 for the calendar year ending Dec. 31, 2021.
PAC contributions and expenditures are disclosed in filings as required by law and can be accessed via the following websites:
In 2021, Chesapeake did not make any corporate contributions to candidates, political campaign committees or Super PACs.
Trade and Advocacy Group Participation
Chesapeake is a member of and actively participates in a variety of federal, state and local trade associations, chambers of commerce and advocacy groups. Some of these groups participate in the political process through educational initiatives and engage in lobbying on important legislative and regulatory decisions that impact Chesapeake.
These groups, which advocate on our behalf, help Chesapeake to operate in the best public policy environment possible, although their interests may not always align with Chesapeake’s positions.
2021 Trade and Advocacy Group Contributions
American Petroleum Institute
$1,000,000
National and state trade associations and chambers* (contributions more than $15,000)
$820,882
Other state and local trade associations and chambers
$40,238
*American Exploration and Production Council (AXPC), American Petroleum Institute (API), Bossier Chamber, DeSoto Parish Chamber, Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, Greater Shreveport Chamber, Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI), Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association (LMOGA), Louisiana Oil and Gas Association (LOGA), Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), PAR of Louisiana, The Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, Petroleum Association of Wyoming (PAW), State Chamber of Oklahoma, Texas Oil and Gas Association (TXOGA), Texas Taxpayers & Research Association (TTARA), Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO), Western Energy Alliance (WEA), Women’s Energy Network Oklahoma, Wyoming Business Alliance, Wyoming County Commissioners Association.
We don’t belong to or financially support non-energy focused tax-exempt organizations such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) that routinely write and endorse model legislation for use in various state legislatures.
Lobbying Activities
Chesapeake strictly adheres to all federal and state lobbying disclosure laws. As required by the U.S. Lobbying Disclosure Act, Chesapeake files quarterly reports that describe issues lobbied and the amount spent on lobbying activity. These reports are publicly available and can be found at lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov.
$80,000
Federal lobbying expenses
$406,000
State lobbying expenses
As of Dec. 31, 2021
