(Bloomberg) -- Chesapeake Energy Corp. is searching for its next chief executive officer after the sudden departure of Doug Lawler less than three months on from the company’s exit from bankruptcy and as speculation swirls about shale-industry consolidation.

(彭博社)——切萨皮克能源公司(Chesapeake Energy Corp.)正在寻找下一任首席执行官。此前，该公司从破产中退出不到三个月，道格•劳勒(Doug Lawler)突然离职，同时页岩气行业整合的猜测也在不断升温。

Lawler’s departure is effective April 30 and Chairman Mike Wichterich will serve as interim CEO, the Oklahoma City-based company said Tuesday in a statement.

这家总部位于俄克拉荷马城的公司周二在一份声明中表示，劳勒的离职将于4月30日生效，董事长迈克•威特里奇将担任临时首席执行官。

“Doug leaves the Company in a great position for future success, and this decision is not a reflection of his performance or the result of any action on his part,” Wichterich said in an email to employees that was seen by Bloomberg. “The search for a new CEO will likely take several months.”

“道格在未来取得成功的有利位置离开了公司，这个决定并不反映他的表现或他的任何行动的结果，”威特里奇在发给员工的一封电子邮件中说。彭博看到了这封邮件。物色新CEO可能需要几个月的时间。”

Chesapeake may play a part in future consolidation of the fragmented U.S. natural gas industry. It was weighing an offer for Alta Resources that could value the closely held explorer at more than $3 billion, people familiar with the matter said last month.

切萨皮克公司可能会在美国支离破碎的天然气行业未来的整合中发挥作用。据知情人士上个月透露，该公司正在考虑对Alta Resources的收购要约，对这家少数人持有的勘探公司的估值可能超过30亿美元。

Lawler, a former chief of overseas exploration at Anadarko Petroleum Corp., was billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s hand-picked choice to lead the oil and gas company in 2013. He pursued a style that was in stark contrast to the extravagance of the late Aubrey McClendon, slashing costs and reducing the size of the workforce by about 90%.

劳勒曾任阿纳达科石油公司(Anadarko Petroleum Corp.)海外勘探部门负责人，是亿万富翁投资者卡尔•伊坎(Carl Icahn)亲手挑选的2013年阿纳达科石油公司(Anadarko Petroleum Corp.)首席执行官。他追求的风格与已故的奥布里·麦克伦登(Aubrey McClendon)的铺张浪费形成了鲜明对比，削减了成本，裁员约90%。

In one of the most recent signs of the austerity at Chesapeake, the Oklahoma City Thunder said last week the company is terminating its naming rights agreement for the NBA basketball team’s arena. Lawler will walk away with $6.4 million in severance pay.

俄克拉荷马雷霆队(Oklahoma City Thunder)上周表示，该公司将终止其与NBA篮球队主场的冠名权协议，这是切萨皮克公司紧缩开支的最新迹象之一。劳勒将获得640万美元的遣散费。

Chesapeake grappled with, and was eventually overwhelmed by, huge debts racked up during an earlier period of soaring energy prices, filing for bankruptcy in June of last year with more than $9 billion in borrowings. The company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February as a much smaller company.

在能源价格飙升的早期时期，切萨皮克公司背负了巨额债务，最终被债务压得喘不过气来。去年6月，该公司以超过90亿美元的借款申请破产。今年2月，该公司脱离了美国破产法第11章的保护，成为一家规模小得多的公司。

The company’s shares were little changed at $46.87 at the close of New York trading.

该公司的股价在纽约股市收盘时几乎没有变化，为46.87美元。

(Adds severance pay in sixth paragraph.)

(在第六段增加遣散费)