UT research links most recent Texas quakes to oil activity

DALLAS (AP) — A new study by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin concludes that human activity, particularly oil and gas production, has been a factor in earthquakes throughout the state for nearly 100 years.

The Dallas Morning News (http://bit.ly/1TWtWpa) reported the study concludes that man-made earthquakes in Texas began in 1925 and that activity associated with oil and gas production "almost certainly" or "probably" triggered 59 percent of the earthquakes detected across the state in 1975-2015, including recent seismic activity in North Texas.

"The public thinks these started in 2008, but nothing could be further from the truth," Cliff Frohlich, senior research scientist at UT and the study's lead author, told The News.

According to the study, processes associated with hydraulic fracturing have triggered most of the earthquakes since 2008.