Shale Gas: Better Regulation and Transparency Will Ease Minds

Readers of Natural Gas for Europe are well familiarized with the polarized debate over shale gas development.

Poor past practices by the industry in the United States now weigh heavily on attempts to further exploration and development of shale gas, particularly in Europe.

We, amongst others including Steve LeVine of The Oil and Glory, have been proposing that the shale gas industry be transparent and forthright in their practices and in their engagement with affected communities.

Michael A. Levi of the Council on Foreign Relations is another rational voice in this debate.

Though Michael has been pretty consistent in defending shale gas from some of its most vocal opponents, he is pragmatic in his view - the shale gas industry is not all roses.

"Industry is obviously diverse: there are good guys and not so good ones. I know that some people in the business (usually the good ones) will use that to defend themselves against criticism. But the reality is that public opinion lumps them together; the only way to bring the bad guys up to scratch is to make good behavior mandatory."

In a new essay for The New Republic, Michael observes that the industry is increasingly losing public confidence, not only to its own harm but also to the detriment of the public interest.

As he puts it  “The problem with the attacks on shale gas isn’t that the gas producers need our sympathy; it’s that we’re in need of their product.”

"Industry has increasingly been waking up to public antagonism, but its response has focused mainly on p.r. Talk, however, is cheap."

In his article, Michael argues that if industry want to recapture the high ground, it’s going to need to embrace some unpleasant regulation:

“Many of the attacks have been unfair—but their impact is real. The burden now falls on the shale industry to restore the public’s confidence. Rather than denying or bemoaning their woes, shale gas producers should be calling for firm but sensible oversight of their activities, .....”