Concerns Over Earthquakes Spread To Texas

Oilprice.com ^ | 08-06-2015 | quAKE3

[bananaman22]

The connection between wastewater injection wells and an alarming increase in the frequency of earthquakes is getting a lot more scrutiny these days.

First was Oklahoma, which has suddenly become the earthquake capital of the United States. The number of earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.0 or higher more than quadrupled between 2013 and 2014 in the state. The culprit? Scientists are becoming more confident that the injection of wastewater into disposal wells causes fault lines to “slip,” contributing to the likelihood of an earthquake.

The issue has become highly contentious in Oklahoma. But now the controversy has spread to Texas, where a subsidiary of ExxonMobil is under the microscope. After a series of earthquakes struck near Dallas, Texas regulators are demanding answers. The regulators will hold a set of hearings beginning on June 10 in which they will look into a set of earthquakes that have been linked to disposal wells operated by XTO Energy, a shale gas company purchased by ExxonMobil back in 2010.

[dware]

Scientists are becoming more confident that the injection of wastewater into disposal wells causes fault lines to “slip,”

In other words, the 'science' is settled.

[TexasCajun]

There are 50% less working rigs now than between between 2013 and 2014. ...so we’ll see.

[mbarker12474]

Do aquifers cause earthquakes?

Does underground oil cause earth quakes?

Does the removal of underground oil cause earthquakes?

Does the removal of underground water cause earthquakes?

Does pouring water back down a hole where there once was oil cause earthquakes?

If you have a sufficient number of media reports about fracking, does this cause earthquakes?

[a fool in paradise]

http://earthquaketrack.com/p/united-states/oklahoma/recent

Oklahoma, United States has had: (M1.5 or greater)
2 earthquakes today
30 earthquakes in the past 7 days
125 earthquakes in the past month
1,842 earthquakes in the past year

[MrEdd]

Terribly worried.
Perhaps we should buy some ram’s bladders.
You know, because it’s such a crisis here.

[napscoordinator]

A ton of scientists are saying fracking which if you think about it. The time that tracking got started and the start of more earthquakes are parallel. So maybe it is tracking that is causing it. However, before we do away with fracking, we need more information on it to make sure as jobs are on the line.

[Dr.Deth]

Let’s assume this assumption is magically true somehow. Would you rather have 10,000 magnitude 3’s, or a single magnitude 7, release that energy?

[married21]

Then again, if the earthquakes are never big enough to do any harm, why quit fracking?

[mbarker12474]

Show us the record of earthquake activity for the previous 1000 years or so, and the overlap of fracking / drilling / jack-hammering / post-driving for the last 100 or so and then we’ll have enough data to make some reasoned observations about Texas and Arkansas. Earthquakes, I’d imagine, are not new phenomenon.

[Parley Baer]

Better to have a lot of smaller quakes than one big one.

[justlurking]

I wish I could “like” your comment.

Tectonic plate movement causes earthquakes.
These plates will always move.

The question is only: how often will they “slip”? Many small earthquakes is preferably to a few big ones.

[aomagrat]

Maybe it those Californians moving to Texas and bringing their faults with them?

[ponygirl]

Then why isn’t South Dakota having earthquakes galore?

[a fool in paradise]

wasn’t that long ago they were blaming earthquakes on global warming.

http://dailycaller.com/2015/04/28/scientists-say-global-warming-will-cause-deadly-earthquakes/

[Dr.Deth]

Thanks :)

I mean, if this is really what they’re arguing, you’d think we’d want to frack the whole country to “grease the plates.” And boy howdy would the Japanese be climbing all over it, onshore and offshore.

[NaturalScience]

Gold star for you!!!

[a fool in paradise]

“First was Oklahoma, which has suddenly become the earthquake capital of the United States. The number of earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.0 or higher more than quadrupled between 2013 and 2014 in the state.”

http://earthquaketrack.com/p/united-states/oklahoma/recent
Oklahoma, United States has had: (M1.5 or greater)
7 earthquakes today
31 earthquakes in the past 7 days
132 earthquakes in the past month
1,849 earthquakes in the past year

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http://earthquaketrack.com/p/united-states/texas/recent

Texas, United States has had: (M1.5 or greater)
0 earthquakes today
0 earthquakes in the past 7 days
2 earthquakes in the past month
93 earthquakes in the past year

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Doesn’t sound like it’s very contagious.

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And how do the anti-frackers know it isn’t being caused by other things like global warming?!!!

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4388
June 8, 2015 • Updated: 1 min 1 sec ago
Global Warming May Trigger Greater Seismic Activity