The dangers of Hydraulic Fracking which is used to extract Shale Gas has become one of the biggest environmental issues for Big Oil and Gas companies.Shale Gas Extraction has seen doubts being raised against its Environmental Safety Record.This new form of Fossil Fuel Extraction has seen a Gold Rush from Global Oil and Gas Majors looking to tap into this major new Energy Form.In the initial helter-skelter,environmental norms have been bypassed.The controversial Fracking Process leads to chemical contamination of water bodies leading to disease and sickness among local animals and humans.Shale Gas Companies and Local Officials have also been accused of conniving to break regulations and laws regarding water usage.The use of new techniques to extract gas from shale formations has gained huge traction in the United State with major companies like Chevron,Exxon spending billions of dollars to acquire companies with shale gas assets and technology.Indian and Chinese companies like Reliance too have spent their billions to gain a slice of the lucrative new Gas pie.However the environmental dangers of using fracking has kept cropping up despite efforts by Big Oil and Gas to suppress.
Shareholders of these companies have passed resolution by more than 30% to make the management of these companies sit up and acknowledge the problem.Note Oil and Gas companies are notorious for their disregard for the environment and these days their shareholders have to pay a heavy price for their negligence.BP Oil Spill is the most recent and glaring example where shareholders were dealt with catastrophic losses.Note Hydraulic Fracking results in injection of dangerous chemicals into the underground water and can cause health hazards for the human communities as well as animals living nearby.Shale Gas Companies illegally diverted Millions of Tons of Water in Pennsylvania and they have tried to block the EPA from investigating the dangers of the fracking process as well.
Large blocks of investors in the two biggest U.S. oil companies on Wednesday demanded more disclosure about the environmental risks of extracting oil and gas through hydraulic fracturing.Exxon Mobil Corp defended the practice at its annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, even as investors peppered Chief Executive Rex Tillerson with concerns and questions about it.A proposal requiring more disclosure by Exxon on the impact of “fracking” received about 30 percent of the votes by shareholders in the world’s largest publicly traded oil company.At rival Chevron Corp, which became heavily involved in fracking through a recent acquisition, 41 percent of shareholders backed a similar resolution.