Earthquakes

Although the number of earthquakes in Oklahoma measuring 3.0-magnitude or greater declined for the third straight year, the state’s seismologist said researchers expect such quakes, most of which are attributed to wastewater injection, will continue for years, perhaps a decade or longer.

Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on Friday was suspended for at least 30 days in a sensitive corner of the Montney natural gas formation in northeastern British Columbia (BC) while an investigation is completed into two earthquakes that struck on Nov. 29.

Regulators in Oklahoma ordered Roan Resources Inc. to halt completion operations at an oil well after the Midcontinent region was struck by a 3.4-magnitude earthquake on Sunday evening.

A Department of Interior official said the agency is moving forward to open a portion of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and natural gas leasing in 2019, and predicted that a lease sale scheduled for the region will attract significant interest from producers.

A judge in Oklahoma has determined that a lawsuit filed after an earthquake, currently the second most powerful temblor recorded in the state’s history, can move forward with class action status.

In response to a pair of earthquakes in north-central Oklahoma last month, state regulators have directed operators of nearly two dozen wastewater disposal wells to cut back on volumes and to perform additional testing.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) on Thursday ordered an oil and natural gas wastewater injection well shut down in Kingfisher County in response to overnight earthquake activity.

Regulators in Oklahoma say data gathered since seismicity guidelines went into effect in late 2016 supports new requirements for oil and gas operators planning to drill in the state’s stacked reservoirs, thereby reducing the chances of future earthquakes from completion activities.

Regulators in Oklahoma said an operator has voluntarily reduced completion operations at a well west of Oklahoma City after a series of small earthquakes rattled the area.