The OGs of early-day Chesapeake Energy are no doubt excited by the news the company will now become the nation’s largest natural gas producer. In a $7.4 billion all-stock deal guided by CEO chess master Nick Dell’Osso, CHK gets the keys to Southwestern Energy, the title of U.S. Gas King, and a combined valuation of nearly $17 billion. ...

Texas-born Tim Latimer knows a thing or two about horizontal drilling and fracking. After his years-long stint as a drilling engineer in the Permian and Eagle Ford, Latimer left his career in the oil and gas industry in 2015 to unlock a different source of energy beneath the surface. ...