The agreement is aimed at increasing safety, creating employment opportunities and expanding supply.
“I am delighted to be working with the GMB, their history is immersed in the gas industry and we have a lot of common interest. Natural gas from shale has the potential to generate many thousands of highly skilled well paid jobs,” Ken Cronin, UKOOG CEO, was quoted as saying in the organization's press release.
Under the charter, the UKOOG and GMB pledged to ensure that the industry would not harm people’s health and pollute environment.
“Shale gas development has attracted a great deal of debate around health, safety and the environment in recent years and GMB and UKOOG will seek to address these issues,” the press release read.
The move comes amid a plummeting public support for shale gas extraction in the United Kingdom in recent months due to the safety concerns.
Environmental experts have proven that toxic materials contained in fracking fluid may contaminate groundwaters.
A YouGov poll, conducted for the Sunday Times between May 14 and 15, has shown that public opposition to fracking – a technique that extracts oil and gas from shale rock by injecting water and chemical liquids at high pressure – has increased to 43 from 29 percent over the past 18 months.
