A moderate earthquake shook northwestern Louisiana early this morning, jolting residents awake from their beds. More than twenty-five individuals reported feeling the tremors to USGS through their “Did you feel it?” online reporting tool. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 3.1, occurred at 3:04 am near Mooringsport, Louisiana, at a depth of 5 km. This event is part of a series of earthquakes that have been occurring in the area recently, and geologists believe it may be connected to fracking or other oil and gas-related activities in the region.
Fracking-induced earthquakes have raised concerns in various regions, including Oklahoma and potentially Louisiana. The seismic activity in Oklahoma has seen a significant increase since 2009, surpassing California’s rate of magnitude 3 and larger earthquakes between 2014 and 2017, as stated by USGS. However, it is worth noting that while some of these earthquakes were induced by oil and gas-related processes, only a few were caused by fracking itself. The largest fracking-induced earthquake recorded in Oklahoma was a magnitude 3.6 in 2019. In the United States, the largest known fracking-induced earthquake was a magnitude 4.0 in Texas in 2018. It is important to emphasize that the majority of earthquakes in Oklahoma are actually caused by a separate industrial practice called “wastewater disposal.” This process involves injecting fluid waste from oil and gas production deep underground, well below water aquifers. It is worth mentioning that over 90% of the injected wastewater in Oklahoma is a byproduct of the oil extraction process, rather than waste frack fluid.
In the past four days, this area has experienced a total of five earthquakes. The initial quake, measuring 3.1 in magnitude, occurred on the morning of the 19th. Just six hours later, a 2.6 magnitude earthquake followed. The following day, another 3.1 magnitude quake hit. Last night, a 2.4 magnitude earthquake occurred, preceding today’s early morning tremor.
According to the USGS, this region is not known for its seismic activity. However, the Fractracker Alliance points out that there is a notable presence of fracking and oil and gas production in the area where this seismic activity has been observed.