University bigwigs are jumping into bed with the fossil fuels industry, according to campaign group Frack Off, which opposes a method of shale gas extraction known as ‘hydraulic fracturing’.
The group has condemned an academic paper released by Durham University as ‘a fracking PR extravaganza’. Professor Richard Davies is the lead author of the paper that describes fracking (cracking sedimentary rock to release gas) as ‘relatively benign’ because it provokes only minor earthquakes. Frack Off questions the independence of Davies’ findings, partly because he has received over $1.5 million in grants from oil and gas companies. He also heads up the Durham Energy Institute, whose partners include BP, Chevron and Shell.
