Oklahoma sees dozens of fracking water wells shut down after major earthquake
RT.com
4 Sep, 2016
The authorities in Oklahoma have shut down 37 wastewater wells used by the fracking industry to extract oil and gas after a 5.6-magnitude earthquake rocked the area on Saturday, equaling the biggest quake to hit the state.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin tweeted that the decision to shut down the wells was a “mandatory directive” and the total area of interest is 725 sq. miles.
The tremor affected the town of Pawnee in the north of the state, while it was also felt over a seven-state area, the United States Geological Society (USGS) reported. Saturday’s earthquake matches the strongest recorded tremor ever to have hit the area, which occurred in 2011.
“Without studying the specifics of the wastewater injection and oil and gas production in this area, the USGS cannot currently conclude whether or not this particular earthquake was caused by industrial-related, human activities,” the agency said in a statement on Saturday. “However, we do know that many earthquakes in Oklahoma have been triggered by wastewater fluid injection.”
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