Earthquakes in Texas Oil Country Are On the Decline After Crackdown on Shale Drillers
- West Texas temblors dropped 10% from record level in 2022
- Permian Basin saw pressure spikes from frack-water disposal
Texas regulators took the rare step of asking drillers to restrict oilfield activities in late 2021 by limiting the amount of wastewater disposed of underground.
Photographer: Jordan Vonderhaar/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The frequency of earthquakes in West Texas declined in 2023 for the first time in at least half a decade after regulators cracked down on the practice of burying toxic wastewater from oil drilling.
The Texas section of the Permian Basin oil field recorded 194 quakes last year, a 10% drop from 2022’s record high, according to the Texas Seismological Network. The figures didn’t account for seismic activity in the New Mexico area of the Permian.