Conflict of interest casts shadow over fracking report

Science : In February, Charles Groat, associate director of the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, led a study on the risks and benefits of hydraulic fracturing. The process, also known as “fracking,” is a method for removing natural gas from shale deposits. An independent report has revealed that, for the past five years, Groat, a former head of the US Geological Survey, has also served on the board of the Plains Exploration & Production Co (PXP), which conducts fracking in the US. Although Groat’s director at the Energy Institute, Raymond Orbach, was unaware of Groat’s connection with PXP, he does not believe that it affected the result of the institute’s study.