fracking

While the exact cause of these earthquakes is still being investigated, some have speculated that they are linked to the booming oil and gas industry in the area, particularly the practice of fracking.

An assessment by the United States Geological Survey has found that Texas could be sitting atop 20 billion barrels of oil, 1.6 billion barrels of natural gas liquids, and 16 trillion cubic feet of associated natural gas.

Hydraulic well fracturing, or fracking as it’s commonly referred to, has opened vast oil and natural gas resources that were untouchable just six decades ago.