'Acceptability' the Challenge for Shale Operators

The public can see only the severity of a possible event in mining, and not the actual probability of occurrence, according to a senior executive of petroleum giant Total. 

Philippe Charlez, speaking at the Shale Gas Environmental Summit, told delegates that the issue of ‘acceptability’ was of primary importance when promoting an unfamiliar technology.

“Shale gas has really put the term ‘acceptability’ back on the table,” he said.

Mr Charlez, who is head of unconventional resources development at Total, said potential operators had to dispel what he called myths about the process.

“It is no longer any good to say, ‘We’re the professionals, we know what we’re doing’,” he said. ‘Fifty years ago, that might have worked. Not any longer.”

Companies which wished to develop shale gas deposits with hydraulic fracturing had to address the fears and lack of knowledge among communities affected, he said.

Industry consultant Joanna Hanson said that balanced information about shale exploration was often difficult for ordinary people to obtain, especially in countries where English is not the first language.

Mr Charlez said that research had showed, despite the upswing in shale development in the US since the mid-2000s, there had been no example of contamination of a freshwater aquifer. Likewise, the likelihood of a seismic event that could be felt at surface was minuscule.