Texas has experienced a surge in seismic activity over the past few hours, with a swarm of quakes shaking the western part of the state.
The latest tremor, a magnitude 3.3, hit at 8:43am ET, east of West Odessa near the New Mexico border.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) has identified another earthquake with a magnitude of 3.1 around 4am ET in the same region, following a series of smaller quakes measuring less than 2.5 magnitude.
Seismic activity above 2.5 in magnitude can often be felt and cause minor damage.
However, no damages or injuries have been reported following Friday’s earthquakes.
Although West Texas possesses numerous fault lines, the earthquakes were probably induced by human activities, especially operations related to oil and gas extraction.
These activities primarily induce earthquakes through the injection of wastewater, which raises subterranean pressure and smoothens faults, consequently raising the likelihood of slippage.
Texas contributes 42 percent of the nation’s crude oil, making it the largest producer in the US.
This is a developing story… More updates to come.
Texas has experienced multiple earthquakes since 12:30am ET. The latest tremor, a 3.3 magnitude, hit at 8:43am ET east of West Odessa, along the New Mexico border
The state is also known for its extensive use of fracking, or the process of extracting oil and gas from deep underground by blasting large quantities of water, chemicals, and sand into rock formations to crack them open and release the fuels trapped inside.
Fracking is not usually the direct cause of an earthquake, but the process of disposing wastewater produced through fracking that can trigger tremors.
A 2022 study by the University of Texas at Austin concluded that 68 percent of Texas quakes above magnitude 1.5 were ‘highly associated’ with oil and gas production.
Dr Alexandros Savvaidis recently explained how more drilling could end up leading to more seismic activity in the state.
‘Deep injection wells, in particular, are linked to higher-magnitude earthquakes,’ Dr Savvaidis told KMID. ‘Whereas shallower injections seem to be less hazardous in terms of large seismic events.’
The USGS detected Friday’s quakes all in the same area, signaling they were likely triggered by fracking processes.
‘The practice of deep injection of oil field wastewater, known as saltwater disposal, has the strongest tie to the increase in the rate of earthquakes and to the strongest earthquakes that have occurred in recent years,’ said Peter Hennings, research professor at The University of Texas’s Bureau of Economic Geology.
However, it was not until 2015 did researchers first discover that the state’s earthquakes were due to fracking.
While West Texas has several fault lines, the earthquakes were likely caused by induced seismicity—earthquakes triggered by human activities, particularly oil and gas operations
Scientists from the Southern Methodist University looked at 84 days from November 2013 to January 2014, finding 27 magnitude 2 or greater earthquakes hit around Azle that is home to fracking practises.
Matthew Hornbach, a Southern Methodist University geophysicist, said the timing and location of the quakes correlates better to the drilling and injection than any other possible reason.
‘There appears to be little doubt about the conclusion that the earthquakes were in fact induced,’ USGS seismologist Susan Hough, who wasn’t part of the study team, said.
‘There’s almost an abundance of smoking guns in this case.’
The strongest earthquake reported in Texas was the 6.0 magnitude quake with an epicenter in Valentine in Jeff Davis County on August 16, 1931.
Newspapers reported shaking was felt as far east as Taylor, just north of Austin, and as far south as San Antonio.
An alarming seven tremors shook the area that day, some lasting as long as 72 seconds. The series of quakes started early morning and continued to the early afternoon.
West Texas was hit by a 5.0 magnitude earthquake this past February, near the border of Culberson and Reeves counties.
The USGS reported about 950,000 people felt weak to light shaking.
