Chesapeake Energy Corp. has established a $1 billion venture capital fund, called Chesapeake NG Ventures Corp. (CNGV), that will identify and invest in companies and technologies related to natural gas and natural gas-to-liquid (GTL) fuels.
To fund this effort, Chesapeake will redirect approximately 1% to 2% of its forecasted annual drilling budget away from efforts to increase natural gas supply toward projects that will instead stimulate increased natural gas demand. Over the next 10 years, the company anticipates committing at least $1 billion to CNGV initiatives.
The company says it is interested in deploying scalable GTL processes to convert natural gas into a tank-ready, liquid transportation fuel that can be blended with existing supplies of gasoline and diesel or used as a stand-alone replacement product.
