Caging a wildcat

摘要

Widcat was once American W slang for risky business; then it was applied specifically to drilling for oil or gas in virgin land. Either way, it fits Aubrey McClendon, the boss of Chesapeake Energy. Since co-founding the firm in 1989, the tall Oklahoman has overseen the acquisition of vast tracts of land and found oodles of natural gas under it. As Chesapeake became America's second-largest natural-gas producer, Mr McClendon be- came the face of fracking, a gas-extraction technique hated by greens.