Chesapeake eyes $14bn disposals - FT.com Chesapeake Energy, the second-largest natural gas producer in the US, needs to raise up to $14bn from asset sales this year to fund its investment plans, the company has told investors. The company plans to turn itself into an oil producer to reduce its reliance on natural gas, for which prices are at 10-year lows, but needs heavy investment in new wells. Aubrey McClendon, the chief executive who has come under scrutiny over his personal finances, said planned capital spending of up to $13.1bn this year was "absolutely required if we are to escape the downward gravitational pull in natural gas prices." He also apologised for the "distraction" created by recent stories about his personal borrowings using his stakes in company-operated wells as security Chesapeake shares fell 14 per cent to $16.93 by lunchtime on Wednesday, as investors digested the implications of the weak first-quarter earnings numbers released on Tuesday , and the more challenging outlook. The target to be raised from asset sales has risen by $2bn from the estimate Chesapeake gave in February. On a call with analysts, Mr McClendon set out a vision of a bright future for the company, with production of oil and natural gas liquids such as ethane rising from 113,600 barrels per day in the first quarter of this year to 250,000 b/d by 2015. But the weakness of natural gas prices is making it more difficult to find the funds needed to drill the wells for producing that oil. Chesapeake said in February that it expected operating cash flow of up to $5.2bn this year. Now it expects no more than $3bn. The company says it has identified deals worth up to $14bn to bridge the gap, including a sale of 1.5m acres (600,000 hectares) in the Permian basin, in Texas, one of the most attractive areas for oil development in the US, and a joint venture for the Mississippi Lime region, a promising new area. Deals worth $2.6bn towards the target were announced last month. Mr McClendon said he was "deeply sorry for all the distractions of the past two weeks." However, he said: "Your mother told you not to believe everything you read or hear for good reason." Neither Mr McClendon nor the company would comment on a report from Reuters that during 2004-08 he had been running a hedge fund that traded in natural gas, with an address in the same building in Oklahoma City as Chesapeake's head office. Chesapeake repeated that its board was "reviewing" financing arrangements connected to the founder well participation programme, a remuneration plan for Mr McClendon that gave him the right to take 2.5 per cent stakes in the company's wells.