US energy giant Chevron has resumed its search for shale gas in north-eastern Romania after hundreds of riot police reportedly brutally removed a bunch of villagers who had been camping out at the site protesting the company’s plan...[I]n October, Chevron suspended its plans to drill an exploration well for shale gas in the village of Pungesti...To prevent Chevron from moving on with the drilling, Pungesti villagers set up a camp in a privately-owned field next to the site where the well was planned to be installed...[On] Monday...Romanian riot police, gendarmes and firemen mobilized forces to break the protesters’ resistance...[L]aw enforcers descended on the area early in the morning. Using police and Chevron vehicles, they blocked the road...and surrounded the protesters camp. Some 40 people were beaten, detained and then taken to the nearest town for further investigation, reports Romanian news website Nineoclock...Chevron reiterated on Monday that its priority was to “conduct these activities in a safe and environmentally responsible manner,” cited Associated Press. The American oil and gas giant gained permits to drill exploratory wells in Pungesti. Protesters and environmentalists fear that the hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” would be disastrous for the local environment. They say that pumping water and chemicals at high pressure into deep rock formations to free oil or gas could contaminate groundwater.