Injections

Seismologists say the largest earthquake in Oklahoma state history, which struck Pawnee County earlier this month, occurred along a known fault line. But a series of aftershocks along a different line that intersects with the quake’s epicenter indicates that a new fault has opened up.

A report by environmental group Clean Water Action (CWA) has called into question injection well practices in Texas, asserting that state regulators have failed to live up to a 1982 agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) disagrees.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has told Texas regulators that “there is a significant possibility that North Texas earthquake activity is associated with [energy industry] disposal wells.” The assertion is part of a report on the state’s underground injection control (UIC) program sent to the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) last week.

A small Northwest Pennsylvania township’s nearly four-year fight with Seneca Resources Corp. appears to be over after supervisors there overturned an ordinance banning underground injection wells that dispose of oil and natural gas wastewater.

Natural gas futures slumped, then rebounded Thursday morning after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a storage injection that was a bit more than what the market was expecting.

As regulators in Oklahoma scramble to figure out what caused a swarm of earthquakes outside an “area of interest” targeting wastewater injection wells, one researcher said there is a possibility the temblors were caused by hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations.

A subsidiary of EnLink Midstream Partners LP is holding a binding open season through Aug. 10 to gauge interest in the proposed Greater Chickadee crude oil gathering system to be built in the Permian Basin of Texas. The system, to include more than 150 miles of high- and low-pressure pipelines, would have origin points in Upton and Midland counties and destination points at two terminals in Midland County. EnLink expects to spend $70-80 million for the project, which could be operational in 2017. Preliminary design is to include multiple central tank batteries and pump, truck injection and storage stations. Design capacity would be determined by shipper commitments. Details are available atenlink.com/crudeopenseasonor by contacting Rick Van Eyk at (713) 739-3244 or rick.vaneyk@enlink.com.

Natural gas futures climbed Thursday morning after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a storage injection that was less than what the market was expecting.

The number of large earthquakes to rattle Oklahoma has declined so far this year, but experts aren’t sure how much of the decline should be attributed to actions taken by state regulators, operators, a drop in wastewater injection, or a combination of all of those factors.