Oklahoma Fracking Faces Potential Backlash After Record Quake
- Tremor may trigger calls for more limits on wastewater wells
- State had at least 890 quakes 3-magnitude or higher last year
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A backlash against fracking in Oklahoma may be about to get worse following a record-tying earthquake over the weekend, potentially slowing the development of some of the U.S.’s most coveted shale plays.
Oklahoma regulators had already been limiting the disposal of oilfield wastewater, which scientists have linked to seismic activity, before a 5.6-magnitude tremor in the state was felt from Texas to Illinois on Saturday, matching a 2011 record. The number of earthquakes measuring 3.0 or higher reached at least 890 last year, followed by about 375 this year through June 22. The numbers are a far cry from only two in 2008, before the state’s fracking boom.