Isn't it possible that off shore oil drilling can affect earthquake faults and accelerate the earthquakes?

My belief ( though not backed up by anything more than my thought process) is that by removing the oil, it causes the plates and faults to move faster by moving into the locations where these reserves are taken from. No one I talk to believes me. Is it possible I am being a space cadet here?Isn't it possible that off shore oil drilling can affect earthquake faults and accelerate the earthquakes?
It's not a stupid idea at all. It's been suggested by respectable geologists that drilling into a fault and injecting water under pressure may lubricate it with the result that stress will be relieved slowly and non-catastrophically.Isn't it possible that off shore oil drilling can affect earthquake faults and accelerate the earthquakes?
Well my geological knowledge is strictly limited. You could be right but I'd guess it's more likely to make things safer. Remember most of the world's oil leaked away long ago. It's only a few structures like salt domes that retain it for us to find. Report Abuse

In practice we can not reach the depth of fault line. The oil extracted is filled with forced non condaminated water.Therefore oil drilling can not create earthquakes.