Chesapeake Energy tacked on 6.3% after the natural-gas producer said it plans to further reduce dry-gas drilling activity by 50% and to curtail its gross gas production by about 8% in response to a drop in natural-gas prices.
Mr Kloppers said the writedown on the Fayetteville assets was also a reflection of BHP's decision to change course and shift drilling from dry gas to liquid-rich fields.
Meanwhile, in dry gas plays like the Haynesville, Barnett and the dry gas portion of the Eagle Ford, companies are basically drilling only the wells they are required to drill under their lease agreements.