Chesapeake has been a long-time neighbor in the Haynesville Shale, so when Hurricane Ida battered south Louisiana, we stepped in to help. The company announced a $100,000 donation to the American Red Cross to be used for safe emergency lodging, meals, relief items and services, and long-term recovery services. We also challenged Vine Energy to donate an additional $100,000, doubling the impact of our original gift.
“Chesapeake is incredibly proud to support communities impacted by Hurricane Ida,” said Mike Wichterich, Chesapeake Board Chairman and Interim CEO. “Our hearts are with those who have experienced tremendous damage and devastation. We hope our contribution to the Red Cross encourages others in our industry to make impactful investments to support ongoing relief and recovery.”
Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana as a dangerous Category 4 storm, leaving more than one million residents without power in the first 72 hours of impact. Weeks later, nearly 100,000 were still without power and tens of thousands were without access to water.
Since Ida first threatened the U.S., the Red Cross reports providing more than 1,100 trained Red Cross workers to support operations, including providing 32,000 overnight stays, serving 506,000 meals and snacks, and distributing 214,000 relief items to storm-impacted communities thus far.
“The Red Cross is able to deploy these critical resources, supplies and an expertly trained workforce because of the support from our community partners,” said Alice Townsend, Regional Chief Executive Officer of the Kansas and Oklahoma Red Cross region. “We are incredibly grateful to Chesapeake’s powerful leadership and visionary commitment to social responsibility and humanitarian service. While this donation would have been generous and impactful on its own, Chesapeake Energy additionally leveraged its network to double the gift!”
Chesapeake began developing natural gas in Louisiana’s Haynesville Shale in 2008. Vine Energy holds 227,000 net effective acres in the Haynesville Basin located in North Louisiana where it explores two substantial pay zones: the Haynesville and Mid-Bossier.