Texas regulators are warning that wastewater from fracking in the biggest US oil basin is causing a “widespread” increase in underground pressure — a development that risks hindering crude output and harming the environment.
Shale oil wells in the Permian Basin generate millions of gallons of chemical-laced water, which drillers then pump back into the earth. Landowners and activists have said for years that this process causes toxic leaks. Now the state’s powerful oil and gas regulator, the Railroad Commission of Texas, is acknowledging the scale of the problem and imposing restrictions that could increase crude production costs.
Chevron Corp., BP Plc, and Coterra Energy Inc. as well as water management specialists Waterbridge Operating LLC and NGL Energy Partners, are among the companies that have received notices about the pressure issue from the Railroad Commission of Texas, according to a Bloomberg News review of public records….