Aubrey McClendon, chief executive of Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK), said the company is in talks about new joint ventures.

"There is a high degree of international energy company interest in shale plays in the U.S.," McClendon said during a call to discuss the companies fourth-quarter earnings.

McClendon said that the company is in conversations with multiple international energy companies about joint ventures involving the Barnett Shale and other U.S. gas fields known as shales.

Company executives also said that service costs could fall as much as 25% in 2009 amid falling commodity prices.

-By Jason Womack, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9201; jason.womack@dowjones.com