Fracking cause of rare south Texas earthquake?
SAN ANTONIO - There is speculation that fracking being done by the oil companies in the area could have contributed, if not caused, Thursday’s 4.8 magnitude earthquake that struck 76 miles south-southeast of San Antonio.
Local geologist John Long was at work on the eleventh floor of the Frost Bank Building along Northeast Loop 410. He actually felt the earthquake from his office. Within minutes he had a good idea of what caused the earth to shake.
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The earthquake only lasted a few seconds.
"I looked on the map and it turns out it's right in the middle of an existing oil field, Fashing Field, which has had earthquakes over the last 40 or 50 years,” explained Long.
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In Long’s expert opinion, it's very possible the earthquake is a result of the disposal of fracking fluids.
“I know the previous earthquakes were tied almost without a doubt with drawing fluids out of the ground, and I’m not sure how much fluid is being withdrawn from that field right now, but
they are injecting fluid into the ground with these frack jobs,” added Long.
All this is being done over a fault that has mostly been inactive, but with the recent boom of fracking in the area Long says it appears the fault was forced to awaken and caused a shake up.
“Anytime you take fluid or add fluid to the earth in this particular area it seems as if it leads to earthquakes,” said Long.http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/Co ... cy7Ng.cspx