Following reports that an oil and gas firm planned to conduct hydraulic fracking in Africa, an international NGO requested support from Prevail to confirm the veracity of the reporting and to provide a basis for managing ongoing concerns within the local community. Prevail conducted a strategic review for the NGO and subsequently engaged with a combination of on-the-ground activity and OSINT services to comprehensively assess the community sentiment. The NGO placed high value in the final report and the way in which the project was conducted, leading to repeat work and enhanced relationships between the NGO, local community, and ultimately with the oil and gas company.
The Solution
Prevail set up a small team of investigators and researchers to examine the reported fracking activity and produce a comprehensive overview of the facts which either corroborated or denied the reported details. The investigation team engaged with local professionals to gather all relevant data and produced a comprehensive evidence pack which supported the NGO dispute with the oil and gas firm.
At the same time, a technical community survey was deployed into the region to gather local sentiment which shaped community engagement and formed the basis of a formal community forum. As a result of the understanding generated for the NGO, and the response of the community to the reports of fracking, positive dialogue between the NGO and the oil and gas firm was achieved.
