Thanks 'antonist' ...I also sold out some time back AND realised...

Thanks 'antonist' ...I also sold out some time back AND realised the mistake, piled back in at ever increasing prices from around 6p upwards.
I have long considered this to be a very 'special' stock that will rarely come to the markets due to their diverse projects on many continents...gla

..A LITTLE SOMETHING FROM FOX NEWS:


Shale Seen As Viable Energy Source Though Safety Concerns Persist
As gasoline approaches a national average of $4 per gallon, a new push to exploit shale gas may offer some relief to American?s feeling the pinch petrochemicals on their wallets.

In recent years, a combination of techniques ? horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing or ?fracking? ? have made it possible to extract shale gas economically.

?This is an opportunity where we can use some home-grown energy sources to fuel our energy, versus having to import it and deal with all the issues you have in terms of national security,? according to John Pinkerton, CEO of Range Resources.

Range, a bigger player in the Marcellus shale, has a huge swath of prehistoric seabed that lies some 5,000 to 7,000 feet beneath Pennsylvania, West Virginia, eastern Ohio and southwestern New York.

The estimates vary widely, but depending on whose numbers are correct, there could be anywhere between 20 and 200 years worth of natural gas.

Cracking the shale to release the gas is a complex process. Drill bits reach deep into the ground and are then turned sideways to penetrate the rock. After explosives fracture the shale, millions of gallons of so-called ?fracking? fluid (a mixture of water, sand and other chemicals) is pumped in under extreme pressure to expand the cracks, freeing the gas to flow back up the well.

The flood of companies pouring into once depressed areas has lit a fire under local economies. Towanda, Pa., population 3,000, has become a boomtown.

Pennsylvania?s new governor Tom Corbett says shale gas can become a cornerstone in his state?s economy. He estimates 40,000 jobs have been created so far.

But opponents of drilling charge he is in the pocket of the gas industry, and they have criticized his refusal to tax gas exploration ? forsaking huge revenues that could help close his state?s $4 billion deficit hole.

Corbett is unapologetic.

?If we start taxing one industry because they?re bringing in a lot of money to Pennsylvania, what does that say to other industries outside of Pennsylvania that may look to Pennsylvania to come here?? Corbett told Fox News.

The shale gas industry is relatively new and loosely regulated and has faced problems. Because of a government loophole, ?fracking? is exempt from the federal Clean Water Act. Companies are not required to disclose what is in their fracking fluids, some of which contain toxic chemicals.

Range Resources however now fully discloses what is in their fluid and is attempting to lead the way with responsible drilling practices an non-toxic fluids. Range was accused of contaminating ground water and at one time used toxic diesel fuel in the fluid.

Pennsylvania?s governor says with a new industry using new practices in such numbers, mistakes were bound to be made. The goal going forward, he says, is to minimize, even eliminate, mistakes.