Role of Deep Fluid Injection in Induced Seismicity in the Delaware Basin, West Texas and Southeast New Mexico

Rates of seismicity in the Delaware Basin of Texas and New Mexico increased from 10 earthquakes per year of local magnitude (ML) 3.0 and above in 2017 to more than 185 in 2022, coincident with increasing oil and gas production and wastewater re‐injection into strata shallow or deeper than producing intervals. Events of large magnitude—up to ML 5.4 to‐date—occur on faults extending into formations above the basement that have received more than four billion barrels of injection. Here, we demonstrate the link between injection geology, pore pressure evolution, fault stability, and induced seismicity in this region. We find that the injection targets are largely dolomitized platform carbonates with low (