Expand Energy, the largest U.S. natural gas producer formerly known as Chesapeake, is looking to sell the bulk of its storied Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, campus, according to a document reviewed by Reuters and the brokers involved in the planned sale.
The planned sale of the real estate marks another step in the shrinking of the iconic Chesapeake brand, once synonymous with the U.S. shale revolution.
The company has hired real estate brokers at Colliers International Group and Cushman & Wakefield’s Commercial Oklahoma division to market over 100 acres (40.5 hectares) of the campus in the northern suburbs of Oklahoma City.
Of the 26 buildings on the campus, Expand plans to retain its 253,000-square-foot (23,505-sq-meter) headquarters known as Building 15, three large buildings, four garden-style buildings, a parking garage and about two acres of land, said Travis Mason, director at Cushman & Wakefield’s Commercial Oklahoma division.
Sale considerations for the rest of the real estate, which includes a 56,250-square-foot data center with capacity for 2.9 megawatts of critical power generation, are at an early state, Mason noted.
The sale is likely to attract interest from real estate developers, while other companies looking to buy individual buildings could also be in the mix, said Walker Ryan, a principal at Colliers.
Mason and Ryan refused to provide a valuation for the real estate, and said it would depend on whether the properties are sold altogether or in different transactions.
Expand did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The company, which in 2020 fell into bankruptcy, last year changed its name as part of a $7 billion merger with rival Southwestern Energy. The merger made it the largest U.S. natural gas producer, but its headcount has dropped drastically in recent years following scores of layoffs.
The campus, once a status symbol for the company and Oklahoma City, was meticulously planned by Chesapeake’s late founder Aubrey McClendon as he grew the company from 10 employees when he co-founded it in 1989 to over 12,000 in 2012.
McClendon, who died in a single-car crash in 2016, spared little expense to build the campus, which includes a 67,000-square-foot fitness center with an Olympic-sized swimming pool, four restaurants and a 62,000-square-foot daycare facility.
At its peak early in the previous decade, over 8,000 of Chesapeake employees worked at the campus, according to The Oklahoman. As of last year, that number had shrunk to 560 employees, the newspaper reported.
Chesapeake’s total workforce stood at about 1,000 employees by the end of 2023, according to annual filings.
Source: Reuters.com