Oklahoma has suspected for years that fracking caused earthquakes, but they stayed quiet about the connection under pressure from the oil industry.
The Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) finally admitted a possible link in more than a year ago between oil and gas extraction and the recent outbreak of earthquakes in the state — which last year experienced 1.6 quakes per day of magnitude 3 or greater.
That’s three times as many as California.
The OGS joined a U.S. Geological Survey statement in October 2013 that found human activity, including wastewater disposal, could be a “contributing factor” in the surge in earthquakes.
That angered the state seismologist’s boss, University of Oklahoma President David Boren, and oil executives, according to emails obtained by EnergyWire.