Re: Is oil and gas extraction one of the reasons for Earthqu
I do not know about any major earthquake being caused by oil or gas extraction, but small movements with little or no damage are common (as they are in a more severe manner also in mining activities). The main cause are pressure depletion and consequential subsidence, these are often capped to a limit by the regulator when an area is particularly sensitive. In addition, like in the case of Groningen, the regulator might ask for a compensation fund to be created.
Extremely rarely the regulator might go further and prevent the drilling of oil wells in an area, as - I believe - is the case in some areas around the San Andreas fault. Most recently, a court in The Netherlands also stopped a planned underground gas storage as there were local concerns about possible earthquakes.
All activities related to injection of fluids are more sensitive than those relating to extraction, but both are well understood and the risk can be kept at a minimum with good geological data acquisition and operational control. A case where something went wrong happened in Switzerland a few years ago, when a court ruled that a minor earthquake with damage to buildings was caused by geothermal wells.
Recent concerns about fracking or fracturing in wells are also in the news, but fracking is a mature technology that has been used successfully already for several decades.
