Study blames some West Texas earthquakes on fracking

Federal Reserve Bank base map, adapted by The Rural Blog

"A new study from the University of Texas at Austin blames hydraulic fracturing for causing some earthquakes in the Permian Basin of West Texas, dispelling the widely held view that oilfield wastewater disposals wells were solely responsible for the man-made tremors," Sergio Chapa reports for the Houston Chronicle. While the study doesn't prove a cause-and-effect relationship between earthquakes and fracking, it found a strong correlation.

It says fracking could have caused some earthquakes in Reeves, Pecos and Culberson counties. "Previous studies had blamed the earthquakes in oil-producing regions on disposal wells, into which wastewater from drilling, hydraulic fracturing and production activities is injected," Chapa reports.

Because of the assumption that disposal wells are responsible for the earthquakes, state authorities tightened regulations on them in late 2014. Steve Everley, a spokesperson for the industry-funded group Texans for Natural Gas, said the industry has supported those regulations, and noted that most of the earthquakes are too weak to cause damage or be felt by most people, Chapa reports.