Aubrey McClendon, chief executive of US-based energy company Chesapeake Energy, said his company’s plans to invest $1bn in corporate venturing would create more than one million jobs.
Last week, the energy comapny said it was setting up Chesapeake NG Ventures to invest the money over the next 10 years in an effort to stimulate natural gas demand.
In a wide-ranging YouTube interview, McClendon said his company’s plans could be transformative for the US economy, adding to his assertions last week that it would weaken the power of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), by saying Chesapeake’s plans could create more than a million US jobs in a few years.
McClendon said: "You can re-establish America as being independent of foreign oil, which would be tremendously beneficial for our economy. You can lower that 9.2 % unemployment rate, and get this economy moving again, and save pèople $2 a gallon on their fuel. That is my hope, that is my dream and I think it will be a reality in the future as well."
He said market forces would probably drive the project’s success, but he would also like government support. "It would be helpful if government is more supportive of what we are trying to accomplish, but they don´t have to be," he said.
He added he welcomed queries from interested co-investors through his company in the same fund or others that decide they want to pursue a similar strategy.