Oil and Gas Could Be Responsible for Nearly 90% of Texas Earthquakes

June 8, 2016

Oil and gas activities may have caused nearly nine in 10 of the earthquakes Texas has experienced in the past 40 years, and the quakes have become more frequent as oilfield activity has picked up in the past decade, according to a forthcoming study.

Of the 162 Texas earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater between 1975 and 2015, a quarter were “almost certainly” induced by oil and gas activities, while 33% were “probably induced and 28 percent were “possibly induced,” researchers led by University of Texas-Austin geoscientist Cliff Frohlich wrote.

Fortune, May 18, 2016

The Midland-Reporter-Telegram, May 17, 2016

The Houston Chronicle, May 18, 2016

Fox7 Austin, May 18, 2016

Business Insider, May 18, 2016

Houston Press, May 19, 2016

Featuring: Cliff Frohlich, Senior Research Scientist / Associate Director, Institute for Geophysics