Oil and gas company Chevron has started an information campaign in the Romanian village of Pungesti, in north-eastern Romania, after its plans to explore for shale gas nearby triggered large demonstrations by villagers.

During the protests, villagers blocked access to Chevron's equipment and to the piece of land the company owns in the village.

Now the company is trying to explain to each villager from the seven villages of the Pungesti commune what shale gas exploration is.

A specialized company will send its representatives into the field, and go door to door to explain what Chevron intends to do there.

According to Chevron, this adds to its mission to inform Romanians, which it started in February 2013.

According to Romanian media, villagers from Pungesti were not happy to be approached about the topic, as they still believe exploring for shale gas – also known as fracking – is dangerous to the environment.

Many say they want to continue to have clean water, and some are afraid they will run out of water, fearing that water reserves held above the pockets of gas will drop if the gas is extracted.

A month ago, after villagers started protesting against Chevron's plans to explore for shale gas, local counsellors decided against shale gas exploration and exploitation at Pungesti.

Later on, the Council Hall – Vaslui prefecture – which was supposed to validate the local decision, sent it back to Pungesti, asking the counsellors to revoke it, which they have not.

In July, the Vaslui prefecture went to court against 11 city halls in the county and, in nine cases, the local decisions banning shale gas exploration in their area were cancelled by the court. Two cases are still ongoing, with court dates set for this month.

In the beginning of October, Chevron obtained the permits to build its first exploration well for shale gas in Vaslui county, at Pungesti, with all other permits in place.

In mid-October, however, the villagers from Pungesti protested against the company's plans for several days in a row. The American company decided to withdraw its equipment and pursue the communication strategy instead.

editor@romania-insider.com