ATLANTA/NEW YORK, March 21 (Reuters) – Continental Resources
chief executive Harold Hamm, one of America’s wealthiest and
most influential businessmen, is embroiled in a contentious
divorce that could lead to a record financial settlement and
threaten his control of America’s fastest-growing oil company.

Sue Ann Hamm, Harold Hamm’s second wife and a former
executive at Continental, filed for divorce on May 19, 2012,
Oklahoma court records show.

ATLANTA/NEW YORK, March 21 (Reuters) – Continental Resources
chief executive Harold Hamm, one of America’s wealthiest and
most influential businessmen, is embroiled in a contentious
divorce that could lead to a record financial settlement and
threaten his control of America’s fastest-growing oil company.

Sue Ann Hamm, Harold Hamm’s second wife and a former
executive at Continental, filed for divorce on May 19, 2012,
Oklahoma court records show.

ATLANTA/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Continental Resources chief executive Harold Hamm, one of America’s wealthiest and most influential businessmen, is embroiled in a contentious divorce that could lead to a record financial settlement and threaten his control of America’s fastest-growing oil company.

Sue Ann Hamm, Harold Hamm’s second wife and a longtime executive at Continental, filed for divorce on May 19, 2012, Oklahoma court records show.

By Michael Erman and Anna Driver and Brian Grow

(Reuters) – SandRidge Energy Inc and activist hedge fund TPG-Axon Capital struck a deal on Wednesday that could lead to the removal of the oil and gas company’s chief executive, marking the second time in two months that allegations of self-dealing and poor performance have shaken a U.S. energy firm.

The company has been under fire since last year from TPG-Axon and another hedge fund for governance lapses and strategic missteps. TPG-Axon, which owns 7.3 percent of SandRidge, launched a campaign to oust Ward and the company’s entire board of directors.

By Brian Grow and Joshua Schneyer

(Reuters) – A major Michigan landowner is suing Chesapeake Energy Corp and Encana Corp, alleging that the two energy giants colluded to rig bids for oil and gas rights in 2010.

Northstar Energy, which owns nearly 10,000 acres in Michigan’s Utica-Collingwood oil and gas shale formation, filed the lawsuit against Chesapeake and Canadian firm Encana in Michigan federal court Friday.

By Anna Driver and Brian Grow

(Reuters) – Chesapeake Energy Corp said on Wednesday its internal probe of the financial dealings of outgoing chief executive Aubrey McClendon found no “intentional” wrongdoing.

The company did not say how it had reached its conclusions and did not release a full report of its investigation. Despite Chesapeake’s internal findings, state and federal investigations of the company continue.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – SandRidge Energy Corp is giving its chief executive wide latitude to profit from personal oil-and-gas deals in ways that pose potential conflicts of interest with the company, according to a review of employment contracts and recent transactions.

SandRidge has lifted most restrictions on CEO Tom Ward’s ability to sell mineral rights or drill wells, through little-noticed changes to his employment agreement in 2011. (See Factbox.)

By Brian Grow and Anna Driver and Joshua Schneyer

(Reuters) – Aubrey McClendon will no longer be running Chesapeake Energy Corp (CHK.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) come April 1. But he is likely to remain deeply entangled with the company he founded 24 years ago.

America’s second-largest natural-gas producer said on Tuesday that McClendon is stepping down as chief executive and a board member. He is leaving behind legal predicaments and intertwined personal and corporate interests that analysts say could linger for years.

By Anna Driver and Brian Grow

(Reuters) – Chesapeake Energy Corp (CHK.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday that Aubrey McClendon will step down as chief executive after a tumultuous year in which a series of Reuters investigations triggered civil and criminal probes of the second-largest U.S. natural gas producer.

News of the executive’s plan to depart on April 1 boosted the company’s shares by 9 percent. The stock has made a partial recovery since losing almost half its value last spring after a Reuters report opened the company and its co-founder up to intense scrutiny.

By Michael Erman and Anna Driver and Brian Grow

(Reuters) – For 17 years, Tom Ward and Aubrey McClendon teamed up to build Chesapeake Energy Corp into the second-largest natural gas producer in the United States.

The two Oklahoma City energy men were a study in contrasts. CEO McClendon was brash and aggressive; company president Ward came across as steady and soft-spoken.