Investor groups are trying once again in their quest to require U.S. natural gas and oil producers to disclose internal plans for managing health and safety risks for, among other things, hydraulic fracturing (fracking), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and worker safety.

Shareholder resolutions for the third year in a row have been filed with 18 of the top domestic explorers, including ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips and Chesapeake Energy Corp., urging them to disclose their internal plans. Investors coordinating with Ceres, which leads a national coalition of investors and public interest groups, this year have filed a total of 86 resolutions with 69 U.S. companies about health and safety risks.

None of the resolutions have been adopted by U.S. producers thus far. About 29% of ExxonMobil shareholders supported the fracking resolution at last year’s annual meeting (see Daily GPI, May 26, 2011). Chevron shareholders last year defeated the fracking proposal but it captured almost 41% of the total vote (see Daily GPI, May 27, 2011).

“This year’s effort builds on the remarkable success achieved by investors last year, when similar proposals received an average 40% vote,” said Richard Liroff, executive director of the Investor Environmental Health Network, which together with Green Century Capital Management is coordinating shareholder resolutions on fracking. “These high votes send strong messages to companies that significant portions of their shareholders require increased disclosure on this issue.”

The resolutions “focus on environmental and social challenges that will have real bottom-line impacts,” said Ceres President Mindy Lubber, who directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk. “These investors are telling companies they expect to see real progress on climate change, clean energy and other sustainability fronts, despite the policy paralysis in Washington.”

Most of the resolutions submitted address financial risks from fracking for natural gas. Exploration and production companies targeted in the shareholder resolutions also include Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., EOG Resources Inc., Noble Energy Corp., Occidental Petroleum Corp., Penn Virginia Corp., Range Resources Corp., Southwestern Energy Co., Stone Energy Corp. and Ultra Petroleum Corp.

“As community opposition and regulatory risks for fracking operations grow, investors are likewise concerned about how businesses are managing their exposure to these risks,” said Ruoff.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, whose office manages the $146.9 billion Common Retirement Fund, said “shareholder resolutions that promote transparency and disclosure are potent weapons to ensure that companies are operating safely and in the long-term interest of investors.”

In addition to disclosing fracking information, producers were asked to:

Michael Passoff, a senior strategist for As You Sow, noted that concern about “water sources, toxic chemicals, and wastewater has led to new regulations in several states and proposed federal legislation. Explosions, contamination incidents, and millions of dollars in fines demonstrate that things can and do go wrong.”

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