Seismicity

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.

Members of a seismicity technical advisory committee to the Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at Austin (UT) have been appointed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

State regulators need to pay more attention to human activities, such as oil and natural gas development, that have the potential to cause earthquakes, according to a 150-page report released Monday by the StatesFirst Initiative.

After a 4.0-magnitude earthquake in North Texas on Thursday, four area drilling waste disposal well operators have shut down operations at five wells while data on seismicity in the area is collected. Meanwhile, Oklahoma injection well operators are living in a different world following quake-minded regulatory initiatives.

After a 4.0-magnitude earthquake in North Texas on Thursday, four area drilling waste disposal well operators have shut down operations at five wells while data on seismicity in the area is collected. Meanwhile, Oklahoma injection well operators are living in a different world following quake-minded regulatory initiatives.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that although conclusive proof linking oil and natural gas disposal wells and earthquakes at injection sites across the country is difficult to demonstrate, a relationship is undeniable.

Since the beginning of 2009, Central Oklahoma has experienced a substantial increase in seismic activity, too much to be random, researchers think. Drilling wastewater disposal in injection wells is a likely contributing factor, they said.