A worrying Rystad Energy analysis of seismic activity in the US’ key oil producing regions reveals that the number of noticeable earthquakes has been increasing year after year since 2017. Tremors of above the magnitude of 2 on the Richter scale quadrupled in 2020 and are on track to increase even further in frequency in 2021 if oil and gas activity sticks to its current drilling methods at the same pace.
Rystad Energy’s research, which examined data from Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico Why leave out Alberta and BC Canada’s frac quake fields? , showed that earthquakes of above the given magnitude accumulated to a count of 242 in 2017, growing to 491 in 2018, 686 in 2019 and 938 in 2020. Around 570 such tremors have been recorded through the first five months of 2021, meaning we may see a new record this year if the trend continues.
The trend appears to be moving not only to more frequent, but also larger events.
So far this year, there have already been 11 individual seismic events of magnitude 3.5 or greater, which can certainly be felt…, a worrying sign compared to just six such events annually in 2018 and 2019, and 14 events in 2020.
The biggest oil and gas industry contributor to seismic activity is by far the saltwater disposal through underground injection, and the volume of disposed water climbed sharply from 2011 through 2019, before tapering off a little in 2020 due to lower activity caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Caused by the pandemic, or nervous disgusted investors and banks the industry after losing billions?
While the US onshore sector’s water disposal in 2011 was limited to 7.7 billion barrels , the volumes quickly built up over the next years to around 10 billion barrels between 2014 and 2017. In 2018 disposed volumes reached 11.5 billion barrels and in 2019 about 12.4 billion barrels , before retreating to 11.3 billion barrels in 2020.
“To maintain water disposal at 2020 levels and offset its coming growth, the amount of water that is treated and recycled must instead grow going forward and the cost of doing that could accumulate to above $1 billion annually for oil and gas producers . The costs can vary per region, but the Permian Basin has very competitive economics compared to other areas,” says Ryan Hassler, shale analyst at Rystad Energy.
To offset the yearly growth of disposed water that Rystad Energy is forecasting due to the coming boom in the US shale industry, the volumes of treated water must increase from the 1.5 billion barrels seen in 2020 to 1.7 billion barrels in 2021 and 2022, 1.8 billion barrels in 2023 and then rise even further from 2024 onwards as the needs to dispose water will again exceed 12 billion barrels due to increased activity.
“Earthquakes are not the only environmental issue caused by water disposal. Fresh water sourcing in arid regions of West Texas and New Mexico threaten the water supply of local communities and essential agriculture activities, while environmental concerns surrounding the chemical composition of produced water serve only to fan the flames of public antipathy ,” adds Hassler.
While ESG initiatives are positive, the real driver to increase water recycling adoption is cost. Midstream companies continue to build out pipeline infrastructure to allow operators cheaper access to produced water, while also expanding existing recycling facilities or building new ones.
Rystad Energy estimates that by the end of 2022, the Permian Basin – including both the Delaware and Midland sub-basins – could but won’t. Companies are too greedy be able to meet between 40% and 43% of frac water demand from recycled produced water. To meet this target, additional investment from the midstream space will be required to drive costs down further.
There are many ideas in relation to produced water that may help alleviate the growing pains of the recycling infrastructure and the disposal seismic problem. Recently, a legislation change in Texas allowed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to take responsibility for the permitting of produced water surface discharge for beneficial reuse.
In theory, the change in regulatory bodies (the TCEQ took over from the Environmental Protection Agency) should allow for a more streamlined “streamlined” is code for deregulated free-for-all toxic waste dumping permitting process, enabling operators to discharge produced water volumes into surface water to be beneficially much oilpatch waste water is radioactive and toxic, and is not beneficial to any human or other species; it’s likely too dangerous and explosive to even use in fire fighting reused for agriculture or wildlife. However, this does not appear to be the case, as the TCEQ has yet to administer a single permit since taking over responsibilities. Good. They best never hand out any.
Currently, only Wyoming takes advantage of surface water discharge for beneficial reuse under the West of the 98th Meridian law, providing an additional market for water reuse. California, on the other hand, uses produced water for crop irrigation, which, under the Clean Water Act, does not require an NPDES (EPA) permit if not discharging to surface water such as instances of use in irrigation.
So, while there are several avenues in which produced water can be reused from an agriculture, irrigation or wildlife standpoint, the fact is that Texas – with its massive produced water volumes – is currently taking advantage of none. …
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Contacts
Ryan Hassler Shale analyst Phone: +47 24 00 42 00email hidden; JavaScript is required
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About Rystad Energy Rystad Energy is an independent energy research and business intelligence company providing data, tools, analytics and consultancy services to the global energy industry. Our products and services cover energy fundamentals and the global and regional upstream, oilfield services and renewable energy industries, tailored to analysts, managers and executives alike. Rystad Energy’s headquarters are located in Oslo, Norway with offices in London, New York, Houston, Aberdeen, Stavanger, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore, Bangalore, Tokyo, Sydney and Dubai.
Refer also to:
2021:
Largest inland spill in history: U.S. Dept Justice files criminal and civil charges against Summit Midstream Partners LLC, $36Million in fines for discharging (dumping?) 111,284,642 litres frac waste over 5 months, contaminating land, groundwater, and 30 miles of tributary waters with crude oil, chloride, sodium, ammonia, aluminum, arsenic, boron, copper, nickel, selenium, zinc, barium, benzene, thallium and more. When will cowardly AER and Canada’s Dept Justice charge/fine Encana/Ovintiv for illegally frac’ing and contaminating Rosebud’s aquifers and diverting water without the mandatory permit under Alberta’s Water Act?
Turn toxic radioactive frac waste into bathing water to burn your babies’ skin off? To ingest, breath and live with? “It’s economically prohibitive to clean the water.” What do oil & gas companies hate more than anything? Spending money to clean up their deadly pollution, on the environment or to protect public health and our drinking water. Terrifying: Water management market for oil and gas production in the U.S. was worth $33.6 **billion** in 2018 (for their use, not ours!)
Many cross references at end of above post on “regulators” helping industry dump their toxic waste into drinking water aquifers.
2020:
New study: NE BC, Dawson-Septimus area in Peace region (where Vicky Simlik lives frac’d by Encana/Ovintiv et al) hit with about 1,500 frac quakes annually
Landowner Vicky Simlik: Living frac’d in Farmington, NE BC. They frac you again, and again, and again, and again. The frac quakes harm you & your home again, and again, and again.
“A shallow shock.” New study on “extremely shallow” frac quake in China in 2019 that killed 2, injured 12, caused $2 Million U.S. in damages, including to numerous homes.
4.0M earthquake 31 km SE of High Prairie, Alberta; 10 felt reports, NRC says none. Tweet: “That’s a weird place for a quake.” Tweet: “Probably not with all the fracking that goes on in the area.”
Scrubbadubbadub! Happy Frac’ing Holidays! Two earthquakes west of Alberta’s Fox Creek Frac Hub: 4.0M on Dec 25; 4.1M on Dec 30. Like a coronavirus, it spreads. Earthquakes Canada already scrubbed the 4.1M; nothing reported in the media or by AER, again. Too busy farting in Post Media’s War Room.
Alberta: AGS confirms frac’ing caused 4.18M earthquake that rattled many homes from Sylvan Lake to Red Deer last March, knocked out power to 4,600 customers, and caused subsequent 3.13M and smaller cluster of quakes. “Complaints of damage from the event were received.” And a water well was damaged by frac’ing near Sylvan.
2019:
USGS reports 5 earthquakes, including three of 3.6M, strike Oklahoma, felt 247 miles away in Texas and 168 miles away in Kansas, a week after Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals rules New Dominion LLC must face class-action lawsuit filed by Prague earthquake victims
Shale gas frac’ing wasted ‘millions of taxpayers’ cash’, say scientists; Frac quakes force Tory Gov’t to Ban Frac’ing . Fracking Free Ireland Welcomes the Ban in Press Release to all TDs & MPs while industry spins itself silly
Nikiforuk: New report by BC regulator admits frac quake risk is high with formations “in a near critical state, meaning only small fluid pressure increases are sufficient to cause specific sets of fractures and faults to become critically stressed.” Researchers still can’t say where or why; Public complaints surging as frac quakes escalate. Have you read the small print of your home insurance policy?
Permian Basin: Another study links frac’ing to earthquakes. “It’s no surprise to communities affected by these quakes that science confirms they’re fracking-related”
Oklahoma Kingfisher-Blaine County line: Another frac hit? Industry-caused damaging earthquake? Officials believe related to oil & gas industry: 3,000 gallons “highly toxic saltwater bubbling to surface every day.” Regulator: “Something you never want to see, is something bubbling to surface like this.”
UK: Cuadrilla moving out! “Frack Free Lancashire is delighted to learn that 35 days after they caused a 2.9ML earthquake which shook the Fylde and the confidence of their investors, Cuadrilla are finally demobilising…. The seismic activity which they provoked has not stopped though, with the 133rd event being recorded on Saturday, five weeks after they last fracked. ”
Scientific American: Even if Injection of Frac Wastewater Stops, Quakes Won’t; Oklahoma’s state seismologist, Jacob Walter: 900 fold increase in earthquakes in past decade of oil & gas frac boom is “unprecedented in human history”
Lancashire UK: Cuadrilla apologises over quakes while trivializing the damages to homes and wants to keep frac’ing. What will the frac-greedy politicians and regulator do? “The whole house went backwards and forwards. [It] was a really strong movement.”
University of Calgary seismologists say they make monumental discovery: Increased fluid pressure is main triggering mechanism of fluids injection-induced earthquakes by either reducing frictional resistance of the fault or altering fault loading conditions.
UK, Blackpool: Cuadrilla’s quakes won’t stop even though work ordered stopped. Bigger quake, 2.9M, damages countless homes, 450 residents protest, demand frac ban. Company’s earthquakes keep getting bigger: 2.1M quake, felt by residents, days after previous record set at 1.6M, also felt by residents. Cuadrilla had promised it would keep quakes below 0.5M
Another frac ‘n gag to cover up frac damages? Cuadrilla signs non-disclosure agreement with UK’s national earthquake monitoring agency, British Geological Survey, to ‘destroy confidential documents’ and release operational data only at company’s request
Lancashire frac’ing: 1.6M earthquake stops Cuadrilla’s work “This is a serious issue and we know that seismic activity at similar levels deformed the well bore at Preese Hall, which Cuadrilla failed to report to the relevant authorities for six months.”
4.1M earthquake hits near Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, “rattling homes.” Power out for Esterhazy, Whitewood, Moosomin, Rockanville, Wapella, Tantallon for 2.5 hours. “My mother’s rocking chair started rocking.” Children screamed and cried, “It was scary.” Earthquakes Canada reports it “lightly felt.” Numerous new “undefined” directional wells drilled in area.
Lancashire UK: More frac failures plague Cuadrilla, company tries but fails to seal the well and caused 57 earthquakes. How much methane is migrating into aquifers and homes? “We have little confidence in Cuadrilla’s technical abilities….”
Encana Earthquake Implications
Encana causes dozens frac quakes near Kingfisher, Oklahoma, including a 3.9M that might be the states largest
Oklahoma citizens with property in nine central counties (about 400 homes and some businesses) that suffered damage from 2011 earthquakes caused by oil industry waste injection gain class-action status
Heavily frac’d Colorado seeing earthquakes where they’ve never happened before. “Big booms, roars and shaking homes.”
Competing with Alberta? Large 4.6 Magnitude Earthquake Recorded In Garfield County, Oklahoma, Felt across wide area in the state
Earthquake felt Sunday morning (March 10) near Rocky Mountain House, Alta., Excellent well-researched comments by Diana Daunheimer, Alberta farmer and mother of two
Terrifying! Injected oilfield wastewater may trigger earthquakes for ‘decades.’ More terrifying: Percentage of high-magnitude quakes felt at the surface increases with depth of waste injected & may create greater magnitude quakes years after injection rates decline or stop.
Canada’s Duvernay oil play attracting big attention, big money and a big damaging earthquake, knocking power out to thousands
What the Frac Hell is going on in Canada! 3.9M earthquake west of Frac’d Crazy Fox Creek Alberta reported by Earthquakes Canada, 1 km depth, now scrubbed from their website!
Alberta Imposes New Frac’ing Restrictions Near Brazeau Dam after Quakes
Vesta Energy Ltd update on 4.6M fracquake near Red Deer March 4, 2019 that knocked out power to 4,600 Fortis Alberta customers, some reports of damage including to home driveway and underground electrical line.
Rimbey-area landowner, Stan Pederson, experienced damages to driveway and underground electrical line (requires $2,500.00 repair) at time of Vesta’s 4.6M frac quake; is worried area water wells might have been cracked by the quake felt 50 km away . What about cracks to energy well bores? How many are leaking hydrocarbons into groundwater and or to surface because of frac quakes?
AER orders Vesta Energy to suspend frac operations at well site linked to 4.6M earthquake in Central Alberta
4.6M earthquake, 1 km in depth, most powerful yet in central Alberta, hits SW of Red Deer, cracks walls in homes, knocks power out to thousands. Vesta Energy reports quake to AER, shuts down frac’ing. AER investigating. Geological Survey of Canada says looks like fra’cing didn’t do it.
2018. There were more frac quake reports during this year, but Klippensteins law firm (my then lawyers, Murray Klippenstein and Cory Wangless, abruptly quit, contrary to the rules of their profession) withheld my website from me for nearly a year, and ignored my concerns and correspondence, so I was unable to post them all. I gave up posting the files I had collected and saved.
Spooked by Quakes, Oklahoma Toughens Fracking Rules, Canadian regulators stick with less stringent regulations despite growing risks from mega-fracking
Oklahoma’s boasted frac quake mitigation failing, badly! More homes damaged by two 4.2M quakes Sunday NE of Enid; Court coddling oil companies causing quakes, leaving people plaintiffs dangling
Gail Atkinson, earthquake expert: Low-volume fracking found still dangerous ; Dutch Court Orders NAM to Immediately Compensate Homeowners in Frac Quake Damages Zone in Groningen for Depreciation even if Homes Not Sold. Will the Corporate Giant Heed the Court? Most Likely Not.
New study: Hydraulic fracturing volume is associated with induced earthquake productivity in Duvernay play, Fox Creek Alberta
New Study: Oklahoma’s induced seismicity strongly linked to wastewater injection depth
2017:
Texas, New Study: Fracking directly linked to increase in earthquakes
Fox Creek, Alberta Frac Quakes start up again; New Study by Standford Scientists: Small earthquakes at frac sites may be early indicators of bigger quakes to come; Surprising Finding: Arkansas earthquakes mostly caused by hydraulic fracturing, only some by wastewater injection, None caused by trucks
Another frac harm lawsuit gags: Settlement reached between two Oklahoma oil and gas companies and Prague resident Sandra Ladra injured in 2011 earthquake
Yukon, Oklahoma: Fracking again directly causing earthquakes; Citizen Energy had to shut down, then cut back frac volumes by 50%
Oklahoma: Pawnee Nation’s $400,000 Earthquake Damages Case Moves Forward
Oklahoma seismologist, Austin Holland, scolded by fracked academia (the dean!) for linking earthquake swarms to powerful oil and gas industry
4.2M earthquake rattles Oklahoma state-wide, Felt also in western Arkansas & Wichita, Kansas, Numerous aftershocks. Mitigation obviously not working. Waste disposal in the Area of Interest had previously been sharply reduced, with no new drilling or fracking
Dutch Quakes Rattle NAM (Exxon, Shell partnership); Judges in Assen rule that NAM is liable for Groningen earthquake victims’ stress ; NAM’s Gas Greed and global warming could wipe out Wadden Sea heritage site
CAPP Induced Planned Deflection & Dismissal of Frack Quake Risks & Harms? U of A Study: Human-induced seismicity (leaves out the tens of thousands of small frack quakes ) and large-scale (why leave out the medium & small-scale production that’s fracked? ) hydrocarbon production in PA, WV, OK, ND, TX, USA and SK, AB, BC, Canada
Texas: New Study by TAMEST, State’s Top Scientists (mostly industry supporters, so findings especially damning ): Drilling in Shale causes pollution, earthquakes, billions in road damages annually, billions in trucking industry damages annually, 75% increase in rural crashes involving commercial vehicles. Health & Climate Change Impacts Not Assessed. Why Not? Too terrible?
Fortify? Globe and Mail: Study fortifies link between fracking and earthquakes in British Columbia
Another Study! Federal and provincial scientists, BC OGC and AER Prove hydraulic fracturing directly caused (August 17, 2015) 4.6M frac quake in NE BC
Ohio: Fracking Suspended Near Wayne National Forest After 3.0M Earthquake. UK suspends fracking when it creates 0.5M earthquakes, Alberta & BC at 4.0M
Pennsylvania Regulator links earthquakes directly to fracking
Pawnee Oklahoma’s 5.8M earthquake caused river to rise . Not just waste injection causing earthquakes in Oklahoma, frac’ing causing them too, like in BC & Alberta
Man-Made Frac Quakes Could Threaten 3.5 Million Americans in 2017: USGS Report
Questerre’s partner to frac Quebec is Repsol, creator of 4.8M world record frackquake, day of Ernst vs AER Supreme Court of Canada hearing . “The Alberta Model” Knocks Quebec’s People to their Knees: Gov’t of Quebec Takes Your Land & Rights, Gives Them to the Frackers – For Free
2016:
“Devastating Domino Effect?” 5.0M Earthquake Causes “Substantial Damages” to 40-50 Buildings in Downtown Cushing, Rattles Residents Across State; Felt as far away as Johnson City, TN, 1297 km away
USGS Study: Oil drilling may have caused 1933 California 6.4M Long Beach earthquake that killed about 120 people and caused massive damages. “There may be no upper limit” to the size of earthquakes caused by the oil industry
USGS links Oklahoma’s 5.1M (third largest) earthquake to oil-field disposal wells more than 7 miles away
It’s Official: Kansas’ Biggest Earthquake, 4.9M in 2014, Caused by Frac Wastewater Injection
Insurer Lloyd’s Wins Right to Fight New Dominion Lawsuit in N.Y. Over Oklahoma Quake Coverage; Lloyds refusing to pay damages claiming water and chemicals injected for fracing doesn’t qualify as pollution
Record Breaking 5.8M Oklahoma Earthquake May Mean More Class Action Litigation Involving Hydraulic Fracturing
Spencer, Oklahoma: 3.8M earthquake felt by 1,300 people up to 928 km away . Question for NEB’s Darin Barter (previously synergizing enabler at AER): When trucks drive by, are they felt 900 km away?
3.8M earthquake location changed from Yorkton to Esterhazy, Saskatchewan; Numerous injection wells there. Caused two hour power outage for several communities. Unbelievable quote by seismologist Dr. Honn Kao, Geological Survey of Canada: “Man-made activity will not cause this kind of magnitude event unless it’s nuclear explosion”
Pawnee earthquake upgraded to magnitude 5.8 from 5.6; 2011 earthquake near Prague upgraded to 5.7 from 5.6
5.6M (originally reported as 5.8) Pawnee Oklahoma Earthquake Officially Largest In State History with Many “Felt” Aftershocks; USGS might upgrade it to 5.7M
Anticosti fracking could cause earthquakes, says Maurice Lamontagne, Geological Survey of Canada seismologist; U.S. Midwest, Alberta, British Columbia enduring earthquakes due to ‘human activity’
Another 5.6M Earthquake Hits Frac Ravaged Oklahoma: Mitigation Obviously Not Working! Quakes Increasing, No Matter How Many Injection Wells Shut Down or Injection Volumes Reduced. State Of Emergency Declared for Pawnee County. 58,628 people felt the quake, as far as 2,323 km away in Boston, MA
EPA: Oil industry likely to blame for Texas tremors, even if state regulator continues to deny it. EPA alarmed at amount of earthquake activity in Dallas/Forth Worth area and “the public health hazard it could create”
Groningen gas field induced earthquakes: Did industry intentionally set up their study to be too small so as to escape paying homeowners the billions of dollars in damages the court ordered paid?
Known risk of earthquakes caused by oil and gas development, BC Hydro worries about fracking unconventionals near dams, specifically coalbed methane and shale gas. “Alberta Offers Lessons In Keeping Oil and Gas Industry ‘Safe’ From A Public Endangered By Fracking”
“Minimal Damage?” Frac waste quakes in Oklahoma keep rising, 4.1M felt 801 km away . Press not reporting it. Authorities diddle & daudle instead of hiring replacement for seismologist Austin Holland. What are Oklahoma authorities afraid of? Studying tens of thousands of frac quakes no one has time for?
B.C. ‘enhances’ earthquake monitoring at oil & gas wells after last year’s fracking shake, 4.6 quake last year largest on record in B.C.; 4.8 on day of Ernst vs AER hearing at Supreme Court of Canada largest in Alberta so far
Do fracking activities cause earthquakes? Seismologists and state of Oklahoma say yes, Earthquakes increasing in volume and intensity around fracking and waste disposal sites
AER allows Repsol to resume fracking after causing world record 4.8M frac quake (felt 280 km away near Edmonton) in AER’s Fox Creek Blanket Approval Frac Frenzy Free-for-All Experiment. But, Repsol appears too shaken to resume
New news or old? Frac’ing, not waste injection, causing earthquakes in Western Canada. Diana Daunheimer calls out U of Calgary’s David Eaton: “So why are you getting the details on this issue so very wrong Mr. Eaton?”
Frac Waste Quakes Make Time Magazine: The U.S.’s New Earthquake Capital: Oklahoma. “Some seismologists say that even if all disposal activity stopped in the state immediately, there could be earthquakes for decades.”
5.1 M: Oklahoma frac waste quakes rumbling bigger & bigger as USGS predicted. Children scurry under school desks, “and it was great,” say administrators. Quake related? Oklahoma City supermarket evacuated because of possible gas leak
First research links Californian quakes to oil operations. Is that why it took so many decades for such research to be done?
Twitchy in Illinois? Letter: Earthquake myth by Seth Whitehead, Illinois Petroleum Resources Board. Do you care if frac quakes or frac waste or waste water quakes shake your home unsafe?
Listen To The Quakes & The Many, Not The Money. 2013: “These fluids are driving faults to their tipping point.” Is this what frac’d communities have to look forward to? 2016: 7.1M earthquake
Ernst vs AER Supreme Court of Canada hearing followed by 4.8M quake in AER’s Immoral Blanket Approval Frac Experiment Gone Wild, felt in St. Albert, 280km away
Frac Hell in Oklahoma: Endless quakes. “There’s no lack of conversation. There’s a lack of action.” Plumber blamed for gas leak in elementary school. Company says boiling oilfield waste alternative to injection wells, breathable air be damned
Canada breaking frac quake records: Geosciences professor thinks earthquakes near Fox Creek are clearly linked to fracking
Edmonton’s 630CHED Jespersen Show Interviews Jessica Ernst on her Supreme Court of Canada Hearing vs AER & Dr. Jeffrey Gu on the 4.8M Earthquake at Fox Creek, Alberta (day of Ernst’s Supreme Court Hearing)
More Frac Quakes Rumble ‘n Rock Oklahoma: The Big Warning Causes Sleepless Night for Thousands. When will the shaking stop? When will the “regulator” regulate?
NINE STUDIES: US Geological Survey (USGS), University Colorado (UC), Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS), Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory (LBNL) studied sudden man-made earthquakes in Oklahoma, California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, found fracing is the causation
Updated because the frac quakes go on & on & on: Oklahoma again orders oil & gas drillers to reduce amount of frac waste water injected. Why? The natural gas leak & home explosion in Oklahoma City? Where will the frac waste go?
IMPERILED AQUIFERS: Texas flouted federal aquifer rules for 34 years , Failed to get federal approval to inject oil, drilling waste into groundwater, Promised 34 Years Ago to Track Waste into Aquifers. It Didn’t .
The Most Horrific Frac Deregulation Yet? US EPA preparing for “widespread” radioactive frac waste contamination of drinking water or because it’s already happened? EPA’s proposed “protective regulation” to allow dramatically higher levels of radioactivity in drinking water
2015:
Canadian Geophysicist Dr. Gail Atkinson: Provinces must do more to prevent fracking-induced earthquakes
BC Regulator: 4.6 quake in August 2015 triggered by fracking largest on record, OGC finds while Geological Survey of Canada experts get their frack quake harm facts mixed up
Companies asking Oklahoma judge to throw out Prague resident Sandra Ladra’s frack waste quake lawsuit
Former Oklahoma state seismologist Austin Holland confirmed industry pressure and conflicts of interest by state officials handling swarms of frac waste quakes shaking & damaging the state
Netherlands court orders more cuts in gas production after stronger and more frequent earthquakes continue
More lies & frac fraud? Why did AER’s Darin Barter (now NEB) suggest trucks to blame for citizens feeling frac quakes at Cardson? Why not tell the truth? Why are regulators and “experts” so loath to publicly disclose fracing’s many public safety risks?
BC regulator copying AER’s frac fraud? BC OGC blames nature for heavy metals surfacing into Brenot Creek and contaminating Lynx Creek in frac quake zone in NE BC
Cushing, Oklahoma: 4.5M earthquake ignores newly imposed frac quake prevention rules
Since frac’ing, earthquakes now frequent near Fort St. John; Why is OGC lying about drinking water contamination caused by hydraulic fracturing?
AER Responding to Encana Sour Gas Well Blowout in AER’s blanket approval, fracing free-for-all near Fox Creek. Was it caused by what Mayor Ahn fears? Fracquakes?
Netherlands court orders Shell & Exxon Mobil to pay 100,000 homeowners billions of dollars in quake damages
NE BC: Monday’s 4.5 Magnitude frac quake, felt from Pink Mountain to Fort St. John (180 km), ‘likely’ caused by Progress Energy, OGC confirms
Fox Creek: Yet another earthquake in AER’s deregulated blanket approval frac experiment. Fracking-Related Earthquakes Could Ding Credit Quality
Fox Creek Mayor Jim Ahn rightfully worried about frac quakes harming sour gas infrastructure in the community. How much damage have the quakes already caused sour gas wellbores and pipelines?
Special Report by Andrew Nikiforuk: Fracking Industry Has Changed Earthquake Patterns in Northeast BC, Impact on groundwater and migrating gases mostly unknown
AER Frac Pilot Project: Earthquakes, tax increases, water restrictions, double homicide, spills and accidents shake Alberta town’s faith in fracking; Aging sour facilities in deregulated Fox Creek a big worry for council; AER’s FracQuake Red Light stops Chevron only 16 days; Families moving out
Oil companies can be sued by earthquake victim in 7-0 Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling, Oklahoma has been hit by a dramatic spike in earthquakes in last 5 years
University of Alberta Prof Jeff Gu: The magnitudes of fracing caused earthquakes seem to be getting larger
Do we need another “independent” frac study? The AER asks: How far do we go? Fox Creek residents react to the latest 4.4 Magnitude quake
Chevron reported 3.6 magnitude event; Shut down by AER. Is the AER’s Frac Quake Stop Light System Irrelevant? Another 4.4 Magnitude Earthquake at Fox Creek
Frac or Dewater, Shake and Cover-up: Oklahoma scientists suspected quakes linked to oil 8 years ago
Dutch Court Suspends Gas Production on earthquake fears; Pennsylvania Insurance Dept Issues Quake Notice: Fracking Exclusion Not Allowed, “Endorsements that attach to homeowners insurance policies in this Commonwealth should cover all earthquakes, whether believed to be ‘naturally occurring’ or caused by ‘human activity’”
Oklahoma, Noble County 5.1 magnitude earthquake, OGS and USGS reported it as 4.2: “What are they up to? Do they really believe they can hide a 5.1 magnitude earthquake from us?”
Oil & gas execs ‘pressured’ Oklahoma geologists not to reveal fracking-quakes link; Industry Pressure Kept Oklahoma’s Scientists Silent on Earthquake-Fracking Link Since 2010: Report
Oklahoma Insurance commissioner clarifies “man-made” earthquake policies: 92% of earthquake claims denied by insurers, “Until a legal ruling is made, it is generally assumed that the earthquakes are not man-made” What a lovely escape for frac’ers, always nature’s fault for industry’s crimes and harms.
Eight Industry Leaders to Present at Catastrophe Response Unit Seminar for “all insurance claims management, adjusters and industry personnel” includes feature presentation: “Fracking Induced Earthquakes”.
AER Master Deregulator promises regulation while bamboozling media and the public. UK frac quake “red light” is 0.5M, in Alberta, it’s 4.0M
Quakes in Gas Fields Ignored for Years, Dutch Safety Agency’s report a relevant read for any fracking zone; Fox Creek frac quakes make AER play deregulation with you and your loved ones: “Red Light = Green Light”
USGS: Frac-induced quakes “dramatically increasing the chance of bigger and dangerous quakes, federal research indicates”
After whopping 4.1 earthquake, Oklahoma regulators were finally fracking fed up, ordered injection well shut down; In Alberta, after 4.4 global frac quake record and aftershocks, it’s “No Duty of Care” frac as usual, harms be damned
Fracking Quakes Pose Added Risks but Oil and Gas Companies Refuse to Share their Collected Seismic Data. “In low seismic environments like Fox Creek where the natural earthquakes are infrequent, the hazards from an induced seismic event can exceed the hazards from a natural source”
Did Alberta Just Break a Fracking Earthquake World Record with 4.4 Temblor at Fox Creek? Sounds of Silence: The Crooked Lake Earthquakes
American Insurance Industry Adjusts to Earthquake Risk Caused by Fracking
New BC OGC Report: From August 2013 to October 2014 Fracking directly caused 193 earthquakes (11 felt on surface), 38 more caused by waste injection, in Montney basin area surrounding Dawson Creek and Ft St John
Could Class Action Frac Quake Lawsuits Doom Fracking? Is that why Big Oil tried to slow down science linking fracking to damaging earth quakes?
2014:
Alberta Energy Regulator still won’t admit the truth: Hydraulic fracturing directly causes earthquakes
7 Quakes Hit Oklahoma in Less Than a Day
Keiser Report: Earthquakes caused by fracing, Interview with Tina Louise from Blackpool UK
New Cornell Study: Because of fracing, Oklahoma now has three times more earthquakes than California; Number of potentially damaging earthquakes – magnitude 3.0 or larger – up more than 120 percent
International panel of geoscientists concluded pair of deadly earthquakes that struck Italian region of Emilia-Romagna in 2012 could have been triggered by petroleum extraction
Goldenkey CFO regarding Lethbridge Penny Project: “We’ve heard many things and we may give up this one” and suggested frac waste water injection nothing to worry about even though it has been proven to cause damaging earthquakes
Fracking by Chesapeake and Billiton Petroleum Blamed for ‘Thousands of Quakes’ and Damaging Homes in Arkansas Lawsuit
Oklahoma wonders why earthquakes are dramatically increasing: Is oil and gas drilling and fracking to blame?
Swarms of Earthquakes Shake Up Shale Gas Fields, Do tremors plaguing industry in Texas, Holland, and beyond offer a glimpse of BC’s future?
Azle, Texas Sues over Earthquakes caused by Fracking
Quake-Plagued Texans ‘Shake the Ground’ in Austin; What say the regulators? Suffer while we study
Netherlands: Friesland wants to be compensated for damages caused by drilling; Nearly $2 billion property damages in Groningen from gas drilling induced earthquakes
UK frac map shows extent of shale gas drilling about to begin despite earthquakes, safety and environmental fears
USGS to make separate risk map for man-made quakes; National Research Council excludes 272 frac-caused quakes in BC’s Horn River Basin off global map
Sneaky buggers! The 272 earthquakes found by Canadian regulators to have been directly caused by hydraulic fracturing, officially reported in August 2012, are excluded, as well as the many caused by frac’ing in the USA to mid-2011, long before this map was created. Why are only the quakes caused by Cuadrilla in the UK included on the map?
Why are authorities hiding that hydraulic fracturing (not just waste water injection) is directly causing earthquakes?
Has the frac industry lost Texas? At earthquake town hall meeting of more than 800, Texans call for fracking to stop
2013:
Big oil, big fracing, big problems? The Hawkwoods frac’d in the Lochend: health problems, dead cattle and earthquakes causing property damage
Major earthquake could cause $75B in damage, study by Insurance Bureau of Canada warns; major quake would bring insurance industry to its knees
Seismologist from U of Texas Cliff Frohlich tells frac conference that frac’ing doesn’t cause earthquakes even though investigations prove that frac’ing does
Spain Suffers from Hundreds of Earthquakes Caused by Offshore Drilling; Largest is Magnitude 4.2; Citizens Complain of Cracks and Tremors Whipping Their Homes
Arkansas homeowners settle fracking lawsuit, Frackers Sued for Causing Earthquakes, Five federal lawsuits mark the first attempt to link drilling and quakes
Fracking Linked To 109 Earthquakes In Youngstown, Ohio
UK Prime Minister David Cameron: ‘UK fracking will be safe’ – ‘There is no question of having earthquakes and fire coming out of taps’ Pffffft, just another lying big-oil-pimping politician.
Fears of quakes and flammable tap water hit Britain as fracking looms
Fracking linked to earthquakes, study finds, raises new concern about earthquakes and fracking fluids
Lawsuit: Quakes caused by frack water disposal damaged homes, Two Alvarado homeowners are suing several energy companies saying they induced earthquakes that damaged their homes
Earthquakes from onshore gas drilling threaten a disaster, warn residents of Dutch city, Residents of the Dutch city of Groningen are up in arms over onshore gas drilling that has triggered earthquakes, damaging homes and sending property prices crashing
Groningen gas fields – the Dutch earthquake zone
New Mexico Earthquakes Linked to Wastewater Injection
Gas quakes anger Dutch farmers but relieve state coffers
Parts of Low Country in Loppersum, the Netherlands, Are Now Quake Country; Pressure from 90s fracking may have caused Oklahoma’s biggest quake
Quake Lawsuits Shake Up Shale Play Companies
Families Blame Fracking for Destructive Quakes
2012:
Seismic risk of fracking has been wildly overstated: EARTHQUAKES: Scientists link Colo., Okla. temblors to drilling activities
New voluntary CAPP guidelines to monitor, respond to earthquakes caused by fracking
What’s with all the Fracking Earthquakes
Alberta researchers to record ground vibrations to look for fracking quakes
Geologists Find East Coast Quakes Travel Farther
Seismic event in southern Alberta: could it be an earthquake
Link between earthquakes and fracking suspected
Spanish earthquake in Lorca ‘triggered by groundwater extraction’, A major earthquake in Spain that killed nine people and destroyed hundreds of homes was triggered by groundwater extraction, a scientific study has found
Groundwater extraction triggered deadly Spain quake, Groundwater extraction from agriculture and industry that lowered a nearby aquifer helped spark a quake in Spain last year, a study showed
Unusual Dallas Earthquakes Linked to Fracking, Expert Says
Fracking Earthquakes Shake Canada
Earthquake threats won’t stall fracking in B.C., industry officials say Shows us who really regulates industry: Industry.
B.C. oil and gas regulator links fracking to earthquakes
Investigation of Observed Seismicity in the Horn River Basin
Louisiana sinkhole, bubbles, 1000s quakes link to oil, gas ENMOD
Fracking Earthquakes: Injection practice linked to scores of tremors
Blackpool rocked: how fracking triggers quakes
EARTHQUAKES Second of Two Parts: Okla. officials ignore advice about injecting into faults
What’s Up With Drilling and Earthquakes?
EARTHQUAKES: Victims think drilling triggered shaking, and that’s OK
North Texas rocked by 11 earthquakes in 40 days
EARTHQUAKES: Drillers face first class-action suit for triggered temblors
USGS Punts On Fracking-related Earthquakes
Canadian studies launched in April 2012 to examine fracking and earthquakes
Fracking can be extended throughout UK, even though it caused two earthquakes
Fracking for oil triggers manmade earthquakes, studies confirm
Survey says…fracking is causing earthquakes
Middle America Is Experiencing a Massive Increase in 3.0+ Earthquakes
Biden blames fracking for earthquakes
2011:
Fracking process causing earthquakes noticeable kilometres away
Fracking likely triggered U.K. quakes, gas firm says
Okla. quakes associated with fracking, Hydraulic fracturing may be in for a bumpy ride
Drilling did cause ‘earthquake’
Earthquakes could be linked to B.C. gas drilling
B.C. probes possible fracking, earthquake link
USGS scientist: ‘We’re only starting to learn’ about fracking, fluid injection, earthquakes
Fracking Could Have Caused East Coast Earthquake
Earthquakes and gas drilling, New Mexico
Quakes Push Arkansas to Limit Gas-Waste Wells
Musings: Frac Attack: Burning Water And Earthquakes
Ark. couple files suit, blaming recent rash of earthquakes on companies’ injection wells
U.K. miner halts fracking due to earthquake concerns
Shale gas fracking may have sparked two quakes in U.K.
Frack and Ruin: the rise of Hydraulic Fracturing; Inflammable tap water, cancer threats and earthquakes: probably coming soon, near you
Shutdown of wells extended in Arkansas quake study
Does Gas Fracking cause Earthquakes?
Scientist blames quakes on drilling
Quakes shake Vermejo Park gas field — again
Coalbed methane drilling could be cause of quake
2010:
2000:
Seismicity in the Oil Field
The gas field was discovered in 1956 and production began in 1962. Over the next 14 years, roughly 600×106 m3 of water, or 106 ton per km2, were injected. …
Beginning in 1976, a series of large earthquakes was recorded. The first significant earthquake occurred on April 8, 1976 at a distance of 20 km [12 miles] from the Gazli gasfield boundary. The earthquake magnitude measured 6.8. Just 39 days later, on May 17, 1976, another severe earthquake occurred 27 km [17 miles] to the west of the first one. The magnitude of the second earthquake was 7.3. Eight years later, on March 20, 1984, a third earthquake occurred 15 km [9miles] to the west of the second earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2. … Aftershocks occurred in a volume surrounding the three hypocentres. These earthquakes are the strongest of all the known earthquakes in the plain of Central Asia. …
There was no clear relationship between the location of the earthquake hypocenters and any previously known active tectonic structures.
Closer investigation showed that the earthquakes had created new faults.
… In all these cases, the result of human interference was to change the state of stress in the surrounding volume of earth. If the stress change is big enough, it can cause an earthquake, either by fracturing the rock mass—in the case of mining or underground explosions—or by causing rock to slip along existing zones of weakness.
The situation in regions of hydrocarbon recovery is not always well understood: in some places, extraction of fluid induces seismicity; in others, injection induces seismicity.
… Even minor actions can trigger strong seismicity.
… The amassed data indicate that the Gazli earthquakes were triggered by the exploitation of the gas field.
… In regions of high tectonic potential energy, hydrocarbon production can cause severe increases in seismic activity and trigger strong earthquakes, as in Gazli, Uzbekistan.
In regions of lower tectonic stress, earthquakes of that magnitude are less likely, but relatively weak earthquakes could occur and damage surface structures.