CHKR Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): February 4, 2016

CHESAPEAKE GRANITE WASH TRUST

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A.

919 Congress Avenue

Austin, Texas   78701

(Address of principal executive offices)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including area code: (512) 236-6555

Not applicable

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year,
if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

o  Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o  Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o            Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR240.14d-(b))

o            Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

ITEM 2.02.  Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

On February 4, 2016, Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust issued a press release announcing the trust’s quarterly distribution for the period ended December 31, 2015. Attached as Exhibit 99.1 is a copy of the press release, which is incorporated herein by reference.  The information furnished in this Item 2.02 and in Exhibit 99.1 is not deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, is not subject to the liabilities of that section and is not deemed incorporated by reference in any filing by Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

ITEM 9.01.  Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)           Exhibits.

99.1        Press Release dated February 4, 2016.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

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Exhibit Index

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Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

CHESAPEAKE GRANITE WASH TRUST ANNOUNCES
DISTRIBUTION OF $0.2195 PER COMMON UNIT

AUSTIN, TEXAS, FEBRUARY 4, 2016 — Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust (NYSE:CHKR) (the “Trust”) today announced that its common unit distribution for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 (which primarily relates to production attributable to the Trust’s royalty interests from September 1, 2015 through November 30, 2015) will be $0.2195 per common unit.  The distribution will be paid on February 29, 2016 to all common unitholders of record at the close of business on February 19, 2016.

During the three-month production period ended November 30, 2015, sales volumes and realized prices were both lower than initial Trust estimates.  This resulted in quarterly income available for distribution of $0.1646 per unit, which is $0.3954 below the applicable subordination threshold of $0.5600.  For this distribution, all of the quarterly income available for distribution will be used to make a distribution per common unit of $0.2195 and the Trust will not pay a subordinated unit distribution for the quarter.

The following table provides supporting documentation for the calculation of distributable income available to unitholders for the production period from September 1, 2015 through November 30, 2015.

(1)         Includes the effect of certain marketing, gathering and transportation deductions.

(2)         Based on 46,750,000 units issued and outstanding, consisting of 35,062,500 common units and 11,687,500 subordinated units.

(3)         All subordinated shares are owned by Chesapeake Energy Corporation.  As the distribution per common unit is below the applicable subordination threshold, no distribution will be paid for the subordinated units.

Due to the timing of the payment of production proceeds to the Trust, quarterly distributions generally include royalties attributable to sales of oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas for three months, including the first two months of the quarter just ended and the last month of the prior quarter.

The Trust was formed by Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) (“Chesapeake”) in June 2011 and owns royalty interests in certain oil and natural gas properties in the Colony Granite Wash play in Washita County, Oklahoma. The Trust is entitled to receive proceeds from the sale of production attributable to the royalty interests. As described in the Trust’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), the amount of Trust revenues and the quarterly distributions to Trust unitholders will fluctuate from quarter to quarter, depending on the timing of initial sales from the development wells drilled by Chesapeake in which the Trust receives an interest, the sales volume of oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas attributable to the Trust’s royalty interests and the prices received for such sales, amounts realized and paid under the Trust’s hedging arrangements and the amount of the Trust’s administrative expenses, among other factors.

For additional information regarding the Trust and its results of operations and financial condition, please refer to the Trust’s SEC filings.

ABOUT CHESAPEAKE GRANITE WASH TRUST:

Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust (NYSE: CHKR) is a Delaware statutory trust formed by Chesapeake Energy Corporation to own certain royalty interests in oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas wells in Washita County, Oklahoma producing from the Colony Granite Wash play within the broader Granite Wash formation of the Anadarko Basin. The common units do not represent interests in and are not obligations of Chesapeake Energy Corporation. The common units are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CHKR. Further information is available at www.chkgranitewashtrust.com where Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust routinely posts announcements, updates, investor information and news releases.

Pursuant to IRC Section 1446, withholding tax on income effectively connected to a U.S trade or business allocated to foreign partners should be made at the highest marginal rate.  Under Section 1441, withholding tax on fixed, determinable, annual, periodic income from U.S. sources allocated to foreign partners should be made at 30% of gross income unless the rate is reduced by treaty.  This release is intended to be a qualified notice to nominees and brokers as provided for under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1446-4(b) by Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust, and while specific relief is not specified for Section 1441 income, this disclosure is intended to suffice.  For distributions made to foreign partners, nominees and brokers should withhold at the highest effective tax rate.

This news release contains statements that are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements contained in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, are “forward-looking statements” for purposes of these provisions. The anticipated distribution discussed herein is based, in part, on the amount of cash received or expected to be received by the Trust from Chesapeake with respect to the relevant quarterly period. Any differences in actual cash receipts by the Trust could affect this distributable amount. Other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include expenses of the Trust and reserves for anticipated future expenses. Neither Chesapeake nor the Trustee intends, and neither assumes any obligation, to update any of the statements included in this news release. An investment in common units issued by Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust is subject to the risks described in the Trust’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, as well as other risks identified in the Trust’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC. The Trust’s annual, quarterly and other filed reports are or will be available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The Trust does not intend, and assumes no obligations, to update any of the statements included in this news release.

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