You're reading: Expert: PR campaign against shale gas production in Ukraine to raise soon

An information campaign aimed at discrediting the idea of shale gas production in Ukraine will be raised in the near future, Chairman of the Committee of Ukraine's Energy Independence public organization Ivan Nadein forecasts. 

“Judging by the regularity of mass media reports on the threats of shale gas production, we in the near future will see an information campaign aimed at discrediting the project,” he said.

According to the Web site of the organization, Russia’s Gazprom does not want to lose its market with a volume of 32 billion cubic meters per year (23% of total European exports) and therefore will seek any opportunity to find support for its position inside Ukraine. Shale gas is able to break the monopoly of Gazprom in Ukraine and will seriously beat its business in Europe. If shale gas is successfully extracted, the development of shale gas deposits could start in other countries of Central and Western Europe, and this is unacceptable for Russia,” the expert said.

Therefore, according to him, in this situation it is much more profitable to allocate funds for a PR campaign, the objective of which would be discrediting the very idea of shale gas production, as it was done in Bulgaria.