Chesapeake Energy, one of the trailblazers in natural gas drilling throughout northeastern and central Pennsylvania, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The company that is based in Oklahoma, is one of the most prominent drillers in the Keystone State.
In spite of the name, Chesapeake is based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It started in 1989, and it shot to prominence as one of the first companies to use unconventional methods for getting oil and gas out of the ground.
It has fields here Pennsylvania, plus New Mexico, Texas, and the Dakotas.
It has also been the subject of a number of class-action lawsuits related to pollution and royalty payments.
If you go by Friday's stock price, Chesapeake is worth $115 million.
More than 200 hundred oil producers have filed for bankruptcy protection in the past five years, and industry experts believe the number will get larger if the global pandemic drags on.
A spokesman for Chesapeake said the company will operate as usual, as it makes its way through the bankruptcy process.
Natural gas has become plentiful over the past few years leading prices to fall.
By declaring bankruptcy, Chesapeake Energy is looking to erase approximately $7 billion of debt.