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U.S. gov't report links more earthquakes to oil, gas operations

Xinhua, April 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

A sharp increase in earthquake activity since 2009 in the central and eastern United States was linked to wastewater injection from oil and gas operations, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

"Wastewater injection increases the underground pore pressure, which may lubricate nearby faults thereby making earthquakes more likely to occur," the USGS said in a statement. "Although the disposal process has the potential to trigger earthquakes, most wastewater disposal wells do not produce felt earthquakes."

The USGS report identified 17 areas within eight states with increased rates of induced seismicity, including parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Since 2000, several of these areas have experienced high levels of seismicity, with substantial increases since 2009 that continue today, the report said.

Many questions have been raised about whether hydraulic fracturing is responsible for the recent increase of earthquakes. Also known as fracking, hydraulic fracturing is the process of injecting water, sand and chemicals deep underground at high pressure to release oil and natural gas trapped in between layers of rock.

The new report suggested that the actual hydraulic fracturing process is only occasionally the direct cause of felt earthquakes.

This is the first comprehensive assessment of the hazard levels associated with induced earthquakes in the central and eastern United States. The USGS said it will incorporate data from the western states in future research.

"This new report describes for the first time how injection- induced earthquakes can be incorporated into U.S. seismic hazard maps," said Mark Petersen, Chief of the USGS National Seismic Hazard Modeling Project. "These earthquakes are occurring at a higher rate than ever before and pose a much greater risk to people living nearby."

Petersen added that the USGS is developing methods to assess seismic hazards in these regions in order to support decisions that help keep communities safe from ground shaking. Endite