MOSCOW (MRC) -- US oil major Chevron has resumed work at what will be its first shale gas well in Romania after protests had earlier suspended operations, reported Upstreamonline.
The US supermajor in October suspended work at the Barlad concession near the north-eastern town of Silistea after protesters blocked access to the site.
"Chevron can confirm that it has resumed operations," Reuters quoted the company as saying in a statement.
"Our priority is to conduct these activities in a safe and environmentally responsible manner consistent with the permits under which we operate."
The suspension came after Pungesti local council decided to hold a non-binding referendum on 24 November on whether local residents would support Chevron’s shale exploration.
The US supermajor gained approval earlier this year to drill exploratory wells in the protest-hit area, and also holds rights to explore three blocks near the Black Sea spanning 670,000 acres.
As MRC informed previously, a second regional council in Ukraine on Thursday approved a government draft for a USD10 billion shale gas production-sharing agreement with US supermajor Chevron, clearing the way for it to be signed. Deputies in Lviv region voted by 66-to-3 in favour of the draft, which calls for shale exploration in the Olesska block in the west of the country. A council in the neighbouring Ivano-Frankivsk region, whose approval was also necessary, backed the deal last month in a 62-to-1 vote with 11 abstentions.
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States, and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining, marketing and transport; chemicals manufacturing and sales; and power generation. Chevron is one of the world's six "supermajor" oil companies.