Texas has experienced four earthquakes since 2:30am ET.
The seismic activity hit in the western part of the state, with the latest at 7:58am ET.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) shows the quakes range from 2.6 magnitude to 2.8 magnitude.
The agency detected three near Toyah and one south of Van Horn.
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.
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.
Those operations cause quakes mainly through wastewater injection, which increases underground pressure and lubricates faults, making them more likely to slip.
Texas has experienced four earthquakes since 2:30am ET. The seismic activity hit in the western part of the state, with the latest detected at 7:58am ET
Texas contributes 42 percent of the nation’s crude oil, making it the largest producer in the US.
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 a 2.9 magnitude earthquake at 2:33am ET, followed by a magnitude 2.6 just miles away.
The third, a 2.8 magnitude, hit south of Van Horn at 7:17 am ET and a 2.7 magnitude was detected closer to the initial two at 7:58am ET.
Texas is listed as the number one state for fracking, and as of February 2017, it was home to 279,615 oil and gas wells but by 2023, that number had increased to 373,133 active wells
Even more, the USGS showed Texas had experienced over a dozen earthquakes from Wednesday to Thursday.
A majority of the quakes were minor, measuring between 1.0 and 1.8 in magnitude.
However, two quakes this morning were larger, the 3.4 magnitude quake and a 2.1 tremor 13 minutes later in the same spot – approximately 17 miles southwest of Garden City.
Since March 13, USGS revealed that there have been a staggering 311 tiny earthquakes in this region of Texas.
The spike in earthquakes has led many to scrutinize the region’s booming oil and gas industry, particularly practices such as fracking and wastewater disposal.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves injecting high-pressure fluid into underground rock formations to extract oil and gas, while wastewater from these operations is often disposed of by injecting it back into the ground.
Some scientists and environmentalists believe these activities could be linked to the surge in earthquakes.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .