Chesapeake defends CEO pay package

Chesapeake Energy on Monday again defended a $112.5 million payout for its CEO, calling it a "carefully tailored" incentive package tied to company performance.

At least two investor groups have challenged the package awarded to co-founder Aubrey McClendon at a time when Chesapeake, one of the largest natural gas producers in the United States, has seen its share price decimated.

After the market closed Monday, Chesapeake reported a loss of nearly $7 billion and said it was cutting capital expenditures through 2010 by $500 million, or about 8 percent.

In a regulatory filing, Chesapeake said McClendon was rewarded for personally closing …