"Oil CEO Wanted University Quake Scientists Dismissed: Dean's E-Mail"

"Oil tycoon Harold Hamm told a University of Oklahoma dean last year that he wanted certain scientists there dismissed who were studying links between oil and gas activity and the state's nearly 400-fold increase in earthquakes, according to the dean's e-mail recounting the conversation.

Hamm, the billionaire founder and chief executive officer of Oklahoma City-based Continental Resources, is a major donor to the university, which is the home of the Oklahoma Geological Survey. He has vigorously disputed the notion that he tried to pressure the survey's scientists. 'I'm very approachable, and don't think I'm intimidating,' Hamm was quoted as saying in an interview with EnergyWire, an industry publication, that was published on May 11. 'I don't try to push anybody around.'

Yet an e-mail obtained from the university by Bloomberg News via a public records request says Hamm used a blunt approach during a 90-minute meeting last year with the dean whose department includes the geological survey."

Benjamin Elgin reports for Bloomberg May 15, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"This Billionaire Tried To Get University Scientists Fired For Doing Their Job" (Climate Progress)

"Oil CEO Hamm Sought Ouster of Scientists Looking at Quakes: Bloomberg" (Reuters)