Local fracking operations, which blast gas from gaps in underlying shale using water and chemicals, are widely blamed for the earthquakes by anxious residents. Thousands of protesters and onlookers targeted the government of Rong County on 24 and 25 February, with many claiming that the earthquakes were the result of large-scale fracking in the area. The marchers carried banners calling for a ban on fracking, some were seen holding red banners which read “protect our homeland, stop shale gas mining” and shouting slogans. [4] Some rushed a police barrier at the entrance of the main government compound. [5] The crowd dispersed after county officials promised over a public address system to halt shale gas exploitation in the area. [6] The government of Rong County announced, “Due to safety reasons and requirements on safe production, shale gas mining companies have suspended mining work.” [7]

As the central government combats air pollution by ditching coal for cleaner forms of energy, it is also creating more demand for natural gases, such as shale gas, which is often extracted from the ground by fracturing shale rocks using high-pressure mixtures of water and chemicals — a process known as fracking. [3] Some scientists and environmentalists worry that such activities may lead to high water consumption, groundwater contamination, and man-made tremors. [8][9] However, seismologists attributed the recent earthquakes to the county's location in a region of medium seismic activity that is currently undergoing an active period, as said by the Sichuan Earthquake Administration (SEA) on its website. "Rong County's earthquakes are related to small scale faults," the SEA said, adding that more 5-magnitudes earthquakes could strike Rong County in the coming days. [10]

Xu Xiwei, director of the Institute of Crustal Dynamics at China Earthquake Administration, told the Global Times on Tuesday (26 Feb) that "there is no direct evidence linking exploitation of shale gas to earthquakes." There remains concern around the world that such human activity may induce earthquakes. Xu noted that US scientists have found that the number of small and medium earthquakes has increased in areas where oil extraction and shale gas exploitation has taken place but no connection has linked the earthquakes directly to human activity. [11] Across the globe wherever fracking goes, swarms of earthquakes follow. Almost all states and provinces in the US and Canada where fracking is taking place have experience fracking earthquakes [12], either induced by hydraulic fracturing or fracking waste injection. Particular hot spots are Oklahoma, US (due to waste injection wells) and British Columbia, Canada (hydraulic fracturing induced). [13]

Sichuan, the centre of attempts to exploit shale gas in China where over 1,000 wells have been drilled so far, has previously been hit by fracking earthquakes. Such quakes have panicked residents living in an already active seismic region. Residents in Rong County complained on the People’s Forum for providing feedback to government officials in November 2018, saying that “there have been frequent earthquakes in Rong County recently, Residents are scared and cannot focus on their work or studies … It all started with the shale gas extraction projects.” [14] Photos posted on social media of schoolchildren cowering under their desks also indicated how the earthquakes affected them, "when I saw these children from my circles on WeChat, suddenly my heart hurts inexplicably for more than 1 minute. I can’t help but this is the reality."[15]

China produced 9 billion cubic meters of shale gas in 2017 — up from 200 million cubic meters in 2013 — and the country’s total shale gas production is likely to rise to 17 billion cubic meters in 2020. China’s Ministry of Natural Resources estimates that the country has 21.8 trillion cubic meters of shale gas available for extraction. [3] Two companies, in particular, have been driving shale gas production, PetroChina and Sinopec. [16] Rong County is part of the region known as the Weirong block where state oil and gas firm Sinopec Corp is drilling for shale gas. Weirong is Sinopec’s second main shale discovery after its flagship Fuling project in the Chongqing municipality, which is located in the same geological basin of Sichuan. PetroChina, which also operates in the nearby Weiyuan block, said in an email to Reuters “due to safety reasons and production safety requirements, the shale gas development enterprises have suspended their operations upon communication with PetroChina Southwest Oil and Gas Field Branch.”[7] In its official newspaper released in late December 2018, PetroChina said that shale gas output at its field in the south of Sichuan province hit a daily record of 20.11 million cubic metres on Dec. 24, more than double volumes on the same day of 2017. [17]