‘Dirty Frackers, Dodgy Numbers’ – Ineos and the ‘Shale Belt’ of Scotland

Since Grangemouth operator INEOS acquired its first shares in domestic shale gas licences last summer, it has made clear its intention to become the biggest player in the UK fracking industry. Talk of large sums of money to be invested in the emerging industry along with jobs and financial incentives for local communities might seem alluring in times of economic difficulty. However, setting aside the question of whether money and jobs can ever compensate for contaminated water, air pollution, risks to public health and a degraded environment, on closer inspection, some of the numbers INEOS have been throwing around are not quite what they may seem…

Read our notes on Ineos' public statements, their promises and their fracking figures.