CHESAPEAKE ENERGY CORP

Litigation and Regulatory Proceedings

We are involved in various regulatory proceedings, lawsuits and disputes arising in the ordinary course of our business operations, including commercial disputes, personal injury claims, royalty claims, property damage claims and contract actions. The majority of the legal proceedings that were in existence prior to the Petition Date were settled during the Chapter 11 Cases or will be resolved in connection with the claims reconciliation process before the Bankruptcy Court. Any allowed claim related to such prepetition litigation will be treated in accordance with the Plan.

In connection with the Southwestern Merger, one lawsuit has been filed by a purported stockholder of the Company relating to the Southwestern Merger: Gerald Joseph Lovoi v. Chesapeake Energy Corp., et al., No. 1:24-cv-01896 (S.D.N.Y Mar. 13, 2024). The complaint alleges, among other things, that the Company’s Board of Directors caused to be filed a materially misleading and incomplete registration statement on February 29, 2024, in violation of Sections 14(a) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 14a-9, promulgated thereunder, and seeks to enjoin the Southwestern Merger and obtain other relief. The Company believes that the claims in the complaint are without merit and intends to vigorously defend against them.

See Note 5 of the notes to our condensed consolidated financial statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this report for information regarding our estimation and provision for potential losses related to litigation and regulatory proceedings. Based on management’s current assessment, other than as described above, we are of the opinion that no pending or threatened lawsuit or dispute relating to our business operations is likely to have a material adverse effect on our future consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. The final resolution of such matters could exceed amounts accrued, however, and actual results could differ materially from management’s estimates.

Environmental Contingencies

The nature of the natural gas and oil business carries with it certain environmental risks for us and our subsidiaries. We have implemented various policies, programs, procedures, training and audits to reduce and mitigate such environmental risks. We conduct periodic reviews, on a company-wide basis, to assess changes in our environmental risk profile. Environmental reserves are established for environmental liabilities for which economic losses are probable and reasonably estimable. We manage our exposure to environmental liabilities in acquisitions by using an evaluation process that seeks to identify pre-existing contamination or compliance concerns and address the potential liability. Depending on the extent of an identified environmental concern, we may, among other things, exclude a property from the transaction, require the seller to remediate the property to our satisfaction in an acquisition or agree to assume liability for the remediation of the property.