Rise in Earthquakes Near Texas Oilfields Prompts New Monitoring
- University of Texas uses state funding to equip 62 stations
- Seeking ways to mitigate impact as number of tremors grows
Workers on a rig at the Permian basin outside of Midland, Texas.
Photographer: Brittany Sowacke/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Texas, home to two of the nation’s busiest oilfields, now has a new way for the public to track in real time how many earthquakes are rattling the Lone Star State since the expanded use of new drilling techniques.
TexNet, which the University of Texas said is the nation’s most advanced state-run seismic monitoring system, includes 22 permanent monitoring stations and another 40 that are portable. The system was formed in 2015 thanks to $4.47 million in state funding.