From the first large quake of magnitude 4.9, the county has experienced a total of 103 earthquakes, including 12 of magnitude three or more, said Justin Rubinstein, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California.
The rash of earthquakes is not naturally occurring, as Texas, in general, is not a very seismically active part of the country. Instead, it is"almost 99% likely" to be linked to local oil fields, Rubinstein said.
“We can say with confidence that these are related to oil and gas extractions," he said.
The temblors are very likely linked to new forms of oil and natural gas drilling technology that allow companies to drill not just down into the earth but horizontally along an oil formation.
They are reaching deeply buried oil and natural gas deposits that are the decomposed remnants of plants and animals in ancient oceans. When the oil comes up, the salt water, which can be millions of years old, also comes up.
The rash of earthquakes is not naturally occurring, as Texas, in general, is not a very seismically active part of the country. Instead, it is"almost 99% likely" to be linked to local oil fields, Rubinstein said.
“We can say with confidence that these are related to oil and gas extractions," he said.
The temblors are very likely linked to new forms of oil and natural gas drilling technology that allow companies to drill not just down into the earth but horizontally along an oil formation.
They are reaching deeply buried oil and natural gas deposits that are the decomposed remnants of plants and animals in ancient oceans. When the oil comes up, the salt water, which can be millions of years old, also comes up.
