Advertising Standards Authority orders the multinational to withdraw “unsubstantiated” and “misleading” claims it made in a series of full-page print advertisements
SUE BLAINE: Published: 2011/07/07 07:13:09 AM: Photo: Reuters
PRO-FRACKING advertisements Shell SA placed in national newspapers were a technical statement of its opinions on the gas extraction technique to promote public understanding of the implications of shale gas exploration in SA, Shell SA chairman Bonang Mohale said yesterday.
Mr Mohale was speaking after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ordered the multinational to withdraw “unsubstantiated” and “misleading” claims it made in a series of full-page print advertisements about its aim to use the controversial gas extraction technique in a 90000km² area of the unique Karoo biome.
Fracking is the common term for hydraulic fracturing, which involves pumping a pressurised mixture of water, sand and chemicals down drill holes to fracture shale and release natural gas.
“We are disappointed by the ruling. The purpose of the advert was to provide information direct to the public to enable them to properly assess the nature of the proposed shale gas exploration in the Karoo, as well as the accompanying technology of hydraulic fracturing,” Mr Mohale said.
Treasure the Karoo Action Group chairman Jonathan Deal said the group regarded the ASA ruling as an “important victory” against the “arrogance” of Shells advertising campaign.
Shells application to use fracking to determine whether the Karoos shale beds hold economically viable gas reserves is not the only one lodged with SAs authorities, but it has been the most public.
Bundu Gas & Oil and Falcon Gas & Oil are also waiting for decisions on their applications for smaller areas of the Karoo.
A consortium comprising Sasol , Norways Statoil and the USs Chesapeake Energy Corporation have a “technical co-operation permit” to conduct desktop studies on shale gas resources in an 88000km² area, primarily located in the Free State and also covering areas in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
The ASA ruled that four of the nine claims against which the anti- fracking Treasure the Karoo Action Group complained were either unsubstantiated, misleading or did not accord with Shells own evidence. Four of the action groups contentions were dismissed and the ASA said it could not rule on one because it fell out of the ambit of the c ode of a dvertising p ractice.
The French government last week outlawed fracking, the first to pass a law banning the technique, Bloomberg reported. Shell SAs statement that advances in horizontal drilling and in fracking techniques, plus “rapid increases” in natural gas prices had lead to an increased awareness of the benefits of shale gas was not adequately substantiated and should be removed.
Shells contention that “there has never been a single documented case of groundwater contamination resulting from fracturing” was deemed unsubstantiated, the ASA ruled.
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Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
