Disposal

Less than 1% of wastewater disposal wells in the United States used by the oil and gas industry have a potential link to induced seismicity, according to a report released this month by Energy In Depth (EID), an energy industry-backed national shale gas education initiative.

More oil/natural gas wastewater disposal wells have joined the Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s (OCC) action plan for reduced injections following a spate of minor earthquakes around Cushing, OK.

A technical conference is to be held with Oklahoma Corporation Commission staff and Tulsa-based Marjo Operating Co. Inc., which is contesting the commission’s curtailment last summer of wastewater injections into disposal wells.

Eleven minor earthquakes have hit the Cushing, OK, area over the past week, the strongest of which was a 4.5-magnitude temblor recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on Saturday.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) has ordered two disposal wells to stop operations and for another three wells to reduce their disposal volume after analyzing disposal well and seismicity data in the Cushing area, the agency said Friday.

With a new swarm of 3.1-magnitude earthquakes not far from Oklahoma City, state regulators earlier this month ordered cutbacks in disposal well operations in specific areas (see Shale Daily,Aug. 4), but some industry observers see that action spreading throughout the state eventually. The first phase of the cutbacks takes effect Aug. 23.

Four months after Oklahoma issued new rules for more than 300 disposal wells targeting the Arbuckle Formation, state regulators have expanded their scope to include more than 200 additional wells in an effort to reduce the frequency and strength of earthquakes scientists attribute to disposal well activities.

Pressure tests of five Johnson County, TX, drilling waste disposal wells in the area of a 4.0-magnitude earthquake that occurred May 7 “provide no conclusive evidence” the wells were a causal factor, the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) said Friday.

Pressure tests of five Johnson County, TX, drilling waste disposal wells in the area of a 4.0-magnitude earthquake that occurred May 7 "provide no conclusive evidence" the wells were a causal factor, the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) said Friday.