GUILFORD – A representative of Norse Energy gave a brief presentation during Wednesday’s Guilford Town Council meeting in an effort by the company to become more involved in the conversation about natural gas exploration in the region.

“We’re really trying to make our rounds and increase our public presence,” explained Scott Ives, a public relations representative for the Norwegian company which is the primary player in Chenango County’s budding natural gas industry. Company representatives have already visited several other local municipalities, including Coventry, Smyrna, Preston, Smithville and the Village of Oxford, he said.

Ives’ 15-minute presentation focused primarily on Norse’s history in the county, and the life cycle of a typical natural gas well.

“[We] have been active in Central New York since 1996,” he reported, explaining that the company’s present activities are concentrated in northern Chenango and southern Madison counties. Norse’s lease holdings, which encompass some 135,000 acres in Central New York, also extend into the rest of Chenango as well as northern Broome County, he said.

Ives then detailed the life cycle of a well, from the pre-planning, permitting stages and site selection stages as well as the drilling process, completion procedures and, finally, restoration of the site.

He also touched upon some of the more controversial aspects surrounding natural gas exploration, namely hydro-fracking and compulsory integration.

“There is a lot of misinformation about hyrdraulic fracturing,” Ives said.