Recent studies of anthropogenically induced seismicity have improved our
understanding of the causal relationships between earthquakes and
industrial activity. Whether larger-magnitude earthquakes can be
triggered and how human injection and production of fluids interact with
active faults remain poorly understood. The 2017 Mw 6.5 Leyte earthquake
nucleated at a depth near the production zone and within 1 km of an
actively producing geothermal field in the Philippines. We use satellite
radar data to constrain the pre-earthquake ground deformation across the
field and the Leyte fault and to determine the coseismic source
parameters. From consideration of regional historical seismicity and
fluid extraction model constrained by fluid injection and extraction
rates, we find evidence suggesting that the mainshock is directly
associated with the geothermal production efforts. Our findings
demonstrate that the extraction of geothermal power close to active
fault zones is capable of triggering damaging earthquakes, a hazard that
was previously underappreciated.