Is Fracking Triggering Earthquakes In Texas?

Seismologists are investigating whether a swarm of earthquakes in Texas is the result of new fracking for oil and gas.

The area around the city of Irving, which had never experienced a quake before 2008, has now experienced more than a hundred.

Locals suspect that hydraulic fracturing - pumping high pressure liquid into the bedrock to free oil and natural gas - or the associated process of wastewater injection is to blame.

With similar quake concerns in other fracking centres like Oklahoma, plenty of potential sites will be watching the Texas study closely.

But the body representing the fracking industry in the Texas Barnett Shale field says the risk is in fact very low.

Professor Brian Stump, a seismologist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, has begun a study into the cause of the swarm. A previously unknown underground fault has been discovered.

He told Sky News: "It is pretty well established that there is a relationship between fluids and small to medium sized, maybe even (magnitude) five (earthquakes).

"Whether the Irving earthquakes are related to that, I can't answer that question but you do see in general an increase in seismicity in Oklahoma, across Texas, and it makes you wonder that possibly fluids have a role."

Research in Colorado in the 1960s found that it was possible to "turn on and turn off' seismic activity.

The Irving School District has now produced a video for schools on how to carry out earthquake drills.

Although no significant damage has been caused by the relatively small quakes so far residents want answers.

Estate agent Barbara Stone, who has started a petition calling for action from local authorities, said: "If it is indeed from injecting or fracking, what are the plans, what do they intend to do to make it stop?"

She acknowledges that fracking has meant a massive economic boom to the local economy, even if falling oil prices has put a check on the industry.

But is cheap oil and energy independence worth the uncertainty of what's happening underground?

Thor Johnson showed Sky News a video he recorded of water pouring through his neighbourhood after a quake ruptured water mains.

He said: "I don't think it is such a good idea just to get cheap energy. Short-term gains for long-term problems is not very wise."

But Energy In Depth, a group that represents the petroleum companies involved in fracking, points to its own research showing that earthquake risks from fracking are low.

Spokeswoman Katie Brown told Sky News: "There is a small risk and that small risk absolutely needs to be addressed but it is very important to see it in the full context.

"When 99.7% of wells are operating without seismicity it is important to note that it is not a pervasive problem.

"In those wells where there is a problem, there is a way to fix that problem."