Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake has been trying to divest its entire South Texas operations to focus on natural gas-producing acreage in other parts of the United States. The deal it has clinched falls short of meeting the demands of activist investor Kimmeridge Energy Management, that is among the 15 largest Chesapeake shareholders, to exit South Texas entirely. Chesapeake is continuing with efforts to divest them, though it's unclear if it will do so until market conditions change, according to the sources. Chesapeake and WildFire did not respond to comment requests. Since then, it has built a position in the Eagle Ford producing upwards of 16,000 net barrels of oil equivalent per day, according to its website.

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