Earthquakes

Operations at a four-well Hilcorp Energy Co. pad in Western Pennsylvania remained idle on Wednesday, more than a week after a 1.9-magnitude earthquake was recorded near the drilling site.

Operations at a four-well Hilcorp Energy Co. pad in Western Pennsylvania remained idle on Wednesday, more than a week after a 1.9-magnitude earthquake was recorded near the drilling site.

Hilcorp Energy Co. has stopped stimulating two horizontal shale wells in western Pennsylvania as state regulators investigate what caused a small earthquake on Monday near the company’s operations, a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) spokesperson said Wednesday.

Hilcorp Energy Co. has stopped stimulating two horizontal shale wells in western Pennsylvania as state regulators investigate what caused a small earthquake on Monday near the company’s operations, a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) spokesperson said Wednesday.

A new study released Wednesday by scientists at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) adds to the growing body of research suggesting a link between seismicity and underground wastewater injection wells.

A new study released Wednesday by scientists at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) adds to the growing body of research suggesting a link between seismicity and underground wastewater injection wells.

Six states are at greatest risk for human-induced seismic activity, according to new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research, including Oklahoma and Texas, where numerous instances of modest quake activity have been blamed on drilling waste injection wells.

Oklahoma regulators on Tuesday implemented the largest volume reduction plan yet for oil and natural gas disposal wells in the Arbuckle formation in the western part of the state, which covers 5,281 square miles and 245 disposal wells. Meanwhile, the Sierra Club is suing Chesapeake Energy Corp., Devon Energy Corp. and New Dominion LLC for triggering quake activity in Oklahoma and Kansas.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin on Thursday approved the transfer of nearly $1.4 million from the state’s emergency fund to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) and the Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) to support their earthquake research efforts.