Lost in all the news and hoopla surrounding the fall of Aubrey McClendon and Chesapeake Energy have been the struggles of fellow fracking giant SandRidge Energy.
The company is currently led by Chesapeake co-founder and former C.O.O. Tom Ward. Although SandRidge is much smaller than Chesapeake, Ward's new company is eerily similar to the one he co-founded with Aubrey McClendon in the 1980s. Both companies made their mark in natural gas, both have a very large presence in Oklahoma City, and both muddle their books with complicated accounting methods that Commander Data couldn't comprehend.
Unfortunately for SandRidge, that's not where the Chesapeake similarities end. Over the past few months, disgruntled shareholders and activist investors have accused Tom Ward of engaging in shady land deals. But don't worry. The SandRidge board of directors released a statement in late January letting us know that everything is fine.