Fossil Oil industry wants to educate us that Fracking is safe and sustainable

As we might expect, those who work in the Oil Industry see Fracking differently than those of who are alarmed about its risks.  Fracking, aka hydraulic fracturing, is thought to be poisoning groundwater, causing earthquakes, and causing more methane releases at well-heads.  Additionally, fracking helps us all to stay addicted to fossil fuels when we would all be better off to abandon their use.

The Oil Industry clearly wants to stay in the business of selling oil and natural gas products.  That means it’s the job of Oil Industry Executives to ensure the market is happy to keep buying fossil fuel derived products.  Sometimes the exec’s blatantly say so in the public.

It’s useful for our understanding of the forces which keep us addicted to fossil fuels to look through their point of view.

On the Natural Gas Intel blog, it’s reported that Noble Energy’s CFO, Ken Fisher, talked at the BakerHostetler Shale Symposium in Houston about the oil and gas industry’s role as the “fundamental driver of the U.S. economy”.

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As an industry insider speaking at a conference about hydraulic fracturing, his remarks were focused on what the industry needs to do in the context of the controversy around fracking.

“There are significant anti-fracking efforts with sophisticated campaigns, and in my view it is not just about fracking but about opposing fossil fuels,” said Fisher.  He reportedly went on to note that the industry has to do “a lot of engagement” to make the case for safe, sustainable, production of natural gas and oil.

I think he doesn’t understand what the word “sustainable” means.  Production of fossil fuels can never be “sustainable”.

To the ends he proposes, Noble Energy is training its employees in public outreach and lobbying:  “We are trying to make sure information is available and we have trained more than 100 of our employees in Colorado to be what we call ‘ambassadors’; we are giving them economic and technical information,
along with communication skills to be out on the front lines. Last year there were five ballot measures to ban or restrict fracking and this year we think there will be statewide measures to either address fracking, limit oil and gas activity or change setback rules”

Polling conducted by Noble Energy has found there’s a significant number of people opposing fracking.  Yup.

But he suggests those who are opposed to fracking simply don’t understand what the industry is actually doing.  Hence, the need for the industry to educate the public.  “Our sense is as we have watched the polling data that the more information you give people on the ground, the better chance we have to impact this debate. The people most impactful on this discussion are people in the industry who talk to their neighbors. The message we have given our employees is that ‘we need you’ to be a spokesperson on this.”

Additionally, Noble Energy is backing a front group, Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development (CRED).

Source: Natural Gas Intel

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About David Herron

David Herron is a writer and software engineer living in Silicon Valley. He primarily writes about electric vehicles, clean energy systems, climate change, peak oil and related issues. When not writing he indulges in software projects and is sometimes employed as a software engineer. David has written for sites like PlugInCars and TorqueNews, and worked for companies like Sun Microsystems and Yahoo.

About David Herron

David Herron is a writer and software engineer living in Silicon Valley. He primarily writes about electric vehicles, clean energy systems, climate change, peak oil and related issues. When not writing he indulges in software projects and is sometimes employed as a software engineer. David has written for sites like PlugInCars and TorqueNews, and worked for companies like Sun Microsystems and Yahoo.

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