Dow Jones: OMV's Huijskes: Industry Must Show Shale Gas Drilling Can Be Safe

The gas industry needs to prove that drilling for alternative sources of natural gas can be done safely and environmentally responsibly, the head of exploration and production at Austria's oil and gas company OMV AG said Wednesday.

"I fully accept the challenge to the industry to prove that we can explore for shale gas safely and environmentally responsibly. Clearly that's our duty," Jaap Huijskes said at a raw materials conference in the town of Loeben, central Austria.

However, the public must to at least entertain the idea of looking for shale gas--an alternative source of natural gas, he said. "What we need is simply acceptance that this is a part of the [energy] supply that we want to entertain in Europe and that goes for Austria, it goes for France, it goes for Germany--in essence, it goes for all of Europe," Mr. Huijskes said.  MORE