Dear Cornelius,

1) I am not sure why you are melding mining with the oil and gas indistry; they are very different in many ways and you cannot overlap them when trying to analyse extractives. Mining leaves an enormous ecological footprint; its technological issues are in some ways more complex.

2) Unconventional gas is part of the industry and fracking (which, as you undoubtedly must know, has been around for decades, even before shale). The awful truth is that extractives are heavy industry, where very very bad things happen: blowouts, fires, mine explosions, and so on.

The concerns I have over fracking (and I do have a number) do not mean that the world can end what is very commonly used to extract much of all the different kinds of oil and gas (converntional and unconventional across the globe. It also does not mean that the problems you have cited with Chevron are common or reflective of shale gas extraction. I know many anti-fracking people will get hysterical at this and reject it outright, but, in all truth, it is overwhelmingly done with minimal environmental and social impact thoughout the US. (Of course, if it happens to you, that's a different story, and terrible.)

For deeper anaysis of this, you should really contact Penn State MCOR or research the Mistletoe Heights experience in Fort Worth. These places re-defined community inclusiveness and involvement, not Europe.

In the US, these days the people who sign up with oil and gas companies are not stupid, almost all have heard the nightmare stories from the early days and now do their due diligence. They know they are taking a calculated risk.

3) Did the market tank on natural gas? Pretty much, but mostly because of over-signing of land, which now have shut-in clauses.

4) Did Chevron handle the public response stupidly? Absolutely. Oil and gas companies are not good at this sort of stuff --- ever. The outcry is important, but so it government's role in holding them to task in these situations.

But the idea that fracking can just be stopped is a non-started. Not until we stop needing hydrocarbons. Sorry.

Hi Jodi, thanks for your comment - a lot of good insights here. A quick reaction to some of your points: of course you are right that mining is mining and oil & gas is oil & gas. However, there a plenty of similarities in both sectors from the point of how they affect the communities among which they operate. Michael Porter mentions massive inflows of capital that dwarf local economies, long-term horizons for operations including remediation, multiple points of interaction with local communities, legal requirements governing investments in societal issues, and there are a couple of other issues so I think it is fair to suggest that there is enough of base to allow for useful cross-sector learning.

In terms of the market for natural I think it is important to note that investment fell almost tenfold from 2011 to 2013, which of course affects all sorts of things. Beyond the land issues you mention I think it is also worth thinking about arguments that Deborah Rogers (on inflating deposits) or S&P capital IQ (on the long-term profit margins) have made when thinking about the economy of the sector.

Finally, I agree that fracking is here to stay, and certainly cannot be stopped with a blog post on Goxi - not sure where you read that in my post. Regardless of where one comes down on the issue of whether this is good or not the point is that while fracking is controversial it will continue to shape the realities of both companies and affected communities. In such a situation it is much more constructive to look for ways of how both can benefit - which is the point of shared value.

Your comment is linked electronically with the one that wants to end fracking below it on the GOXI website . Possibly a tech error, but there none the less. (See below.) You can also try the link. I am also writing a comment to Mr. West, but that will have to wait till after work.  maybe I will just send the same one.

From a company's perspective, this reported situation with the community in Sierra Leone will be seen as a non-technical risk, just the type that Cornelius Graubner foresees in the shale gas and unconventional oil business.

So great are the hidden risks in the fracking business, says Johnny West, that he thinks GOXIans might be called upon to stop this mile-long train wreck waiting to happen, literally.