Brunswick Group is handling the revamp of American Energy Partners' shale holdings in a move to create the biggest exploration & production company in Appalachia.

AEP is the firm of legendary oilman Aubrey McClendon, who was ousted from the CEO slot of Chesapeake Energy in 2013.

The consolidation creates American Energy Appalachia, which has 300K acres in the Utica and Marcellus Shale plays in Ohio and northern Virginia.

The Wall Street Journal reports the reorganization is a bet that new drilling technology will make the shale output more feasible in the era of oversupply and cheap oil.

Brunswick's Steve Lipin handles media for AEP.