MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron said it had filed a civil lawsuit against protesters in Poland who have prevented the US supermajor from reaching a site where it plans to explore for shale gas, said Upstreamonline.
Local people occupied the site near the village of Zurawlow, about 260 kilometres south-east of the Polish capital, when contractors started trying to erect a fence.
Chevron said it filed the action on the grounds that the protesters were violating its lawful right of access to the site, one of four shale gas exploration concessions the company has in Poland.
"While we respect the rights of individuals to express their opinions, it should be done within the law. We believe that the views expressed by a small group of people do not reflect views of the majority of residents" in the region around the site, Chevron said, according to a Reuters report.
The protesters say Chevron has not adequately consulted with local residents and that its drilling will damage the environment.
Chevron says it is committed to operating in a safe and responsible way and is bringing benefits to communities where it operates.
In neighbouring Romania, Chevron had to suspend work at another planned shale gas exploration well after local people blocked the site. As MRC wrote before, Chevron signed on the dotted line for its USD10 billion deal with Ukraine for the Olesska shale production sharing agreement. Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych and Chevron regional president James Johnson were on hand for the signing at the presidential palace in Kiev.
Chevron Phillips is a chemical producer jointly owned by Chevron Corporation and Phillips 66. The company was formed July 1, 2000 by merging the chemicals operations of both Chevron Corporation and Phillips Petroleum Company. A 50/50 venture, the company continues to be governed by a board of directors composed of two members from each of the parent companies. Chevron Phillips is headquartered at The Woodlands, Texas (a northern suburb of Houston), and is a major producer of ethylene, propylene, polyethylene, polypropylene, K-Resin(r) SBC, ryton polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), alpha-olefins, polyalphaolefins, aromatic compounds and a range of specialty chemicals.
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