On November 16, a 5.4 magnitude earthquake struck West Texas, making it the state's largest recorded earthquake in three decades, according to the US Geological Survey.
"The RRC has been monitoring seismicity over the course of several years and identified produced water injection disposal as having an impact on the frequency and intensity of earthquakes. Produced water is produced during oil and gas production," Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) spokesperson Andrew Keese said in response to whether fracking contributed to the 5.4 magnitude earthquake.
To protect residents and the environment, the Texas Railroad Commission created three seismic response plans in the Permian Basin, the most productive oil and gas area in the state, Keese said.
The response plans to reduce injection-induced seismicity include reduction of daily injection volumes in disposal wells and suspension of disposal well permits, Keese said.
Texas’ state seismic monitoring network and seismicity research center, TexNet, found that from 2017 to 2020, about 68% of earthquakes above magnitude 1.5 were highly associated with hydraulic fracturing or the disposal of produced formation water into either shallow or deep geologic formations, which is a common practice by oil companies at the end of the fracking process that can shift fault lines.