Обри МакКлендон: Американдық кәсіпкер және мұнай өнеркәсібінің қайыршысы

American businessman

Aubrey Kerr McClendon (July 14, 1959 – March 2, 2016) was an American businessman and the founder and chief executive officer of American Energy Partners, LP. He also co founded Chesapeake Energy, serving as its CEO and chairman. He was an outspoken advocate for natural gas as an alternative to oil and coal fuels, and a pioneer in employing fracking. McClendon was a part owner of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Oklahoma City Thunder franchise, and was part of the ownership group that moved the Seattle SuperSonics to Oklahoma City in 2008. On March 1, 2016, McClendon was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring "to rig bids for the purchase of oil and natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma". He died the following day, March 2, 2016, in a single vehicle collision.

McClendon was a founding member of America's Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), a trade association and lobbying group for independent natural gas producers, based in Washington, D. C.

McClendon was a public proponent of natural gas, fracking and shale drilling throughout his career. Later that year, he was quoted saying, "We have found something that can liberate us from the influence of OPEC, that can put several million Americans back to work, liberate us from four dollar gasoline." The indictment says he orchestrated a conspiracy in which two oil and gas companies colluded not to bid against each other for the purchase of leases in northwestern Oklahoma. The conspiracy he is suspected of was orchestrating a scheme between two large energy companies, which are not named in the indictment, that was conducted from December 2007 through March 2012. One of the unnamed companies in the indictment turned out to be SandRidge Energy, Inc. according to Bloomberg News. William Baer, then Assistant Attorney General of the United States Justice Department Antitrust Division in the Obama administration, said "His actions put company profits ahead of the interests of leaseholders entitled to competitive bids for oil and gas rights on their land. Executives who abuse their positions as leaders of major corporations to organize criminal activity must be held accountable for their actions." He also held stakes in several Oklahoma City restaurants, including Irma's Burger Shack, Republic Gastro Pub, Metro Wine Bistro & Bar, and Pops. McClendon opened Pops, a burgers and soda restaurant on the historic Route 66 highway in Arcadia, Oklahoma, in 2007. From 2004 to 2008, McClendon ran a $200 million hedge fund, Heritage Management Company LLC, with Tom Ward. He invested $35 million in ProCure Treatment Centers Inc., a company with three proton therapy based cancer treatment centers, in 2008. From 2004 to 2006, McClendon bought almost of mostly undeveloped dunes on the east coast of Lake Michigan and the Kalamazoo River for $39.5 million. He had previously secured a half interest on the land in 2004. In 2006, the five member Township Board representing Saugatuck, Michigan voted unanimously to rezone the land, making development more difficult. The Township Board supported the views of local citizens and the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance, who argued that McClendon's plans for development would irrevocably damage the property. He continued with the land purchase, and in 2007, his legal team began discussions of scaling back the legal restrictions on the land with township officials. In December 2010, McClendon filed a federal lawsuit attempting to overturn the zoning laws

From 2008 to 2013, McClendon was one of the U. S.'s largest landowners, owning more than .

McClendon was an original member of the Professional Basketball Club LLC, which owns the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Oklahoma City Thunder franchise. He was a part of the team that moved the Seattle SuperSonics to Oklahoma City in 2008, where they were renamed the Oklahoma City Thunder. At the time the team moved, McClendon owned 20 percent of the franchise. Prior to the move, in 2007, McClendon was quoted in The Journal Record (an Oklahoma City newspaper) as saying "we (the ownership group) didn't buy the Seattle SuperSonics to keep them in Seattle". The NBA fined McClendon $250,000 in response, as his statement contradicted the organization's publicized intentions at the time. In April 2014, he purchased more shares in the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise from G. Jeffrey Records Jr.

McClendon made sizable donations to and served on the board of directors for many municipal and private organizations in Oklahoma City, including the Boathouse District and Boathouse Foundation, The McClendon Family Boys and Girls Club of OKC, the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, Oklahoma State Fair and Oklahoma City Public Schools. He donated to Oklahoma City arts organizations, including the Lyric Theatre, Oklahoma City Ballet, and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. He donated approximately $15 million to Duke University and $12.5 million to the University of Oklahoma. In 2010, U. S. Steel Tubular Products, Inc., a subsidiary of United States Steel Corporation, gave McClendon the Chief Roughneck Award, which honors the lifetime achievements of petroleum industry leaders. In 2011, he was awarded the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year in Energy, Cleantech and Natural Resources. In 2013, the Heritage Hall Alumni Association named McClendon, who graduated in 1977, the recipient of its Distinguished Alumni Award.

McClendon lived in Oklahoma City with his wife, the former Kathleen Upton Byrns. They have three adult children named Jack, Callie, and Will. By his wife, he was related to Sports Illustrated supermodel Kate Upton. He also held an extensive collection of antique maps of Oklahoma and had collected a number of vintage motor boats. McClendon was a known associate of, and contributed funding to, convicted fraudster Billy McFarland, co founder of the ill fated Fyre Festival.

McClendon died in a solo occupant, single vehicle crash at 9:12 a. m. on March 2, 2016. According to police reports, he died instantly when his 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe SUV, traveling at , crashed into a concrete overpass for the Turner Turnpike on Midwest Boulevard in Oklahoma City. The medical examiner's office reported McClendon died from multiple blunt force trauma. On March 3, 2016, less than 48 hours after McClendon was charged, the Justice Department filed motions and dismissed McClendon's indictment. On June 8, 2016, the Oklahoma medical examiner officially ruled the crash which killed shale pioneer McClendon was an accident. According to the autopsy report, no alcohol was involved in the accident, but an unspecified amount of the over the counter first generation antihistamine and short term sedative drug Doxylamine (which is used as an antihistamine or to treat insomnia) was found in Mr. McClendon's system.

The event occurred one day after McClendon's indictment by a federal grand jury accusing him of violating antitrust laws from 2007 to 2012 while the CEO of Chesapeake Energy. A spokesman for the U. S. Attorney in Oklahoma City disputed initial reports that McClendon was en route to the courthouse when the crash occurred. The spokesman said no arraignments or meetings were scheduled with McClendon on the day of his car accident.

Oklahoma City Police spokesman Paco Balderrama said of McClendon's actions, "He pretty much drove straight into the wall. The information out there at the scene is that he went left of center, went through a grassy area right before colliding into the embankment. There was plenty of opportunity for him to correct and get back on the roadway, and that didn't occur." On the day of the incident, local police indicated that it was too early to determine if the collision was intentional Two months later, with the medical examiner's final report still pending, Balderrama announced that the police investigation found no evidence of suicide, including no emails or messages implying this, but neither could it be ruled out: "Had he slept at all? It's very possible he suffered a medical event We may never know one hundred percent what happened." The medical examiner classified the death as an accident.