George Mitchell leaves larger-than-life legacy

The godfather of fracking passes away aged 94

George Mitchell, the billionaire wildcatter who transformed the global energy industry through the pioneering use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to develop shale-gas fields, died at the age of 94 in his hometown of Galveston, Texas, on 29 July. The son of Greek immigrants, he was one of the most influential oilmen since Edwin Drake. It is not accurate to say Mitchell invented fracking – the basic technique had already been established by the time he served in the US Army Corps of Engineers during the Second World War. Decades later, though, his company Mitchell Energy & Development would be the first to crack the shale code on