The fight against hydrofracking grew in 2008 when it was revealed that extracting shale gas was an option for South Africa.

An industry spokesman said the proposed moratorium could eliminate up to 4,500 jobs on vertical hydrofracking, which is allowed.

Paterson instead issued an executive order specifically suspending high-volume, horizontal hydrofracking until the state Department of Environmental Conservation could complete a study of the practice.

Also called "fracking" or "hydrofracking", the process blasts millions of gallons of water mixed with sand and chemicals deep into shale rock, freeing trapped gas.