Questerre Energy Corp. CEO Michael Binnion has launched a blog on the company website to open a “dialogue on shale gas” and issues relevant to the Calgary-based independent.

Questerre’s exploration efforts currently are concentrated in the Utica Shale in the St. Lawrence Lowlands of Quebec, which is estimated to hold substantial amounts of untapped gas. Quebec’s environmental bureau is expected to release a report on Feb. 28 concerning the impact that increased Utica Shale development would have on the province (see Shale Daily, Dec. 23, 2010). However, opening up the region to increased gas development has led to protests.

Binnion’s blog, which was launched in December, is to be published in English and in French.

“The debate on shale gas has become too polarized,” Binnion said. “People have the right to their own opinion but they don’t have the right to their own facts. Sustainable development principles call for a balance among environmental, local and economic imperatives. We need to have a real debate about that.”

Many companies use blogs to inform stakeholders about events. However, a CEO making regular public comments is rare.

“So why get involved in the public debate? Why write a blog?” Binnion asked in a posting early this month.

“In part because no one else will,” he said. “In part because I am an entrepreneur more motivated by innovative and game-changing projects than simply making money. In part because I really believe in the social benefits of shale gas development in Quebec. In part because I thought I should have a blog before my technology-savvy kids did.

“But mostly because the shale gas debate has become too much of ‘don’t bother me with the facts my mind is made up.’ We need to stop the madness. The debate deserves to be taken seriously.

“We all have a right to our own opinion but we do not have a right to our own facts. So over the next year or so I plan to comment on both the silliness and the seriousness of the shale gas debate.”