Schlumberger Chief Say Shale Gas in Europe Faces Challenges

The chief executive of oil and gas services giant Schlumberger, said that shale gas could be much harder to recover in Europe as compared with the United States.

“We should not underestimate the challenge,” said Andrew F. Gould, speaking about shale gas exploration and development and concerns about environmental damage and other issues.

“The drilling and producing of shale gas wells in Central Europe will be very different from doing so in the southern United States for financial and logistical, social and regulatory reasons,”he said.

Mr. Gould was speaking at the Oil & Money conference being held in London where he received the 2010 Petroleum Executive of the Year Award.