Less Chevron shareholders back frack risk report

30/05/2012 - 18:50

SAN RAMON, California (Reuters) - Shareholders owning 27 percent of Chevron Corp voted for more disclosure on the risks to its operations and finances from both hydraulic fracturing regulation and growing public opposition to the oil and gas production practice.

A similar proposal on "fracking" received more than 40 percent support a year ago from investors in the second-largest U.S. oil company.

At CHEVRON (CVX.NY)s annual meeting on Wednesday, an executive said an early count of votes showed about 23 percent supported a resolution calling for the appointment of a board director with environmental expertise, compared with 25 percent last year.

Activists had seized on that resolution, which this time had the support of advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services, as a sign of heightened concern about Chevron's protracted legal battles over pollution in Ecuador.

(Reporting By Braden Reddall; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)