Texas Energy Report says Roy Orbach, director of the University of Texas Energy Institute, and geology professor Charles Groat have resigned from the organization following questions raised about a conflict of interest related to the institute's study of hydraulic fracturing earlier this year. Groat served as principal investigator of the study, which concluded that fracking, as the process is known, has not contaminated groundwater. After the report was issued an environmental group noted that Groat had longstanding ties to Plains Exploration & Production Co., which uses fracking. Texas Energy Report said that Groat did not disclose that he received $414,900 from the company in 2011 and had been awarded $1.6 million in stock since joining its board in 2007. The item is here.
-- Jim Fuquay
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