Saltwater

Staff of the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission (AOGC) has recommended the permanent shut-in of saltwater disposal wells in an area north of Conway, AR, in the Fayetteville Shale where a recent earthquake swarm is thought to have resulted from waste injection activities.

Staff of the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission (AOGC) has recommended the permanent shut-in of saltwater disposal wells in an area north of Conway, AR, in the Fayetteville Shale where a recent earthquake swarm is thought to have resulted from waste injection activities.

A hearing at the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission (AOGC) to consider whether two saltwater injection wells in the Fayetteville Shale are related to seismic activity in the region has been postponed to April 26 from March 29 at the request of the injection well owners, Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Operating Inc. and Little Rock, AR-based Clarita Operating LLC. The wells are currently shut in and will remain so until at least the date of the hearing and maybe longer depending on what is decided at the AOGC. Both companies maintain that their wells are not related to a recent swarm of earthquakes in the area; however, since the wells were shut in, quake activity has declined somewhat (see Shale Daily, March 17).

Since the cessation of injections at two natural gas saltwater disposal wells in the Fayetteville Shale more than two weeks ago, a swarm of earthquakes there that began last summer seems to have died down, a researcher said last week. However, it will be at least a few more weeks before any link between the wells and quakes might be seen, and with how much certainty remains unclear.

Since the cessation of injections at two natural gas saltwater disposal wells in the Fayetteville Shale nearly two weeks ago, a swarm of earthquakes there that began last summer seems to have died down, a researcher said. However, it will be at least a few more weeks before any link between the wells and quakes might be seen, and with how much certainty remains unclear.