Looks like the cat's out of the bag. Even the news is calling it out. Good news is that the deniers are loosing their voice. Some people would deny the sky was blue if it suited their pockets. And they wonder why we have to mandate things? Freedom requires responsibility and the o/g industry has done their best to avoid it.
Looks like the cat's out of the bag. Even the news is calling it out. Good news is that the deniers are loosing their voice. Some people would deny the sky was blue if it suited their pockets. And they wonder why we have to mandate things? Freedom requires responsibility and the o/g industry has done their best to avoid it.
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Boren must have breathed a sigh of relief when the SAE narcisist bus chant video broke, knowing this story would all but disappear with the distraction of that.
Preliminary Findings
A team of USGS scientists led by Bill Ellsworth analyzed changes in the rate of earthquake occurrence using large USGS databases of earthquakes recorded since 1970. The increase in seismicity has been found to coincide with the injection of wastewater in deep disposal wells in several locations, including Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Ohio. Much of this wastewater is a byproduct of oil and gas production and is routinely disposed of by injection into wells specifically designed and approved for this purpose.
Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking,” does not appear to be linked to the increased rate of magnitude 3 and larger earthquakes.
Although wastewater injection has not yet been linked to large earthquakes (M6+), scientists cannot eliminate the possibility. It does appear that wastewater disposal induced the M5.3 Raton Basin, Colorado earthquake in 2011 as well as the M5.6 quake that struck Prague, Oklahoma in 2011, leading to a few injuries and damage to more than a dozen homes.
Doesn't that basically say we don't know? (yet) In one sentence it says "wastewater injection has not yet been linked to large earthquakes (M6+), scientists cannot eliminate the possibility", in the next it says "It does appear that wastewater disposal induced ". To me that says we think maybe. On the "fracking" it says no link. Probably the same on the fracing too. I still think it's a combination of things oil & gas production, increased demand on the aquifers and waste water disposal. Now who do we hold responsible for following the guidelines and it going bad? I say everyone, every man, woman or child who has ever ridden in a car, enjoyed electricity generated by natural gas, every mineral owner, every stock holder. Including me. Tax.
A team of USGS scientists led by Bill Ellsworth analyzed changes in the rate of earthquake occurrence using large USGS databases of earthquakes recorded since 1970. The increase in seismicity has been found to coincide with the injection of wastewater in deep disposal wells in several locations, including Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Ohio. Much of this wastewater is a byproduct of oil and gas production and is routinely disposed of by injection into wells specifically designed and approved for this purpose.
Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking,” does not appear to be linked to the increased rate of magnitude 3 and larger earthquakes.
Although wastewater injection has not yet been linked to large earthquakes (M6+), scientists cannot eliminate the possibility. It does appear that wastewater disposal induced the M5.3 Raton Basin, Colorado earthquake in 2011 as well as the M5.6 quake that struck Prague, Oklahoma in 2011, leading to a few injuries and damage to more than a dozen homes.
Doesn't that basically say we don't know? (yet) In one sentence it says "wastewater injection has not yet been linked to large earthquakes (M6+), scientists cannot eliminate the possibility", in the next it says "It does appear that wastewater disposal induced ". To me that says we think maybe. On the "fracking" it says no link. Probably the same on the fracing too. I still think it's a combination of things oil & gas production, increased demand on the aquifers and waste water disposal. Now who do we hold responsible for following the guidelines and it going bad? I say everyone, every man, woman or child who has ever ridden in a car, enjoyed electricity generated by natural gas, every mineral owner, every stock holder. Including me. Tax.
That's just too easy Okie.
If one were to examine the depth interval being drilled, I'd bet that there's not 3000' difference in the depths being actively explored in a swath from the Bakken in ND all the way down to and encompassing the Eagle Ford in south TX. It's real easy to say that the geology is different, but they are all shale formations regardless of what they are named. It would be an interesting study to measure the high/low depth and defining the interval measuring from sea level instead of ground level, and if it's been done by USGS I bet they don't want it known so the correlation isn't found out.
You can regulate all you want. But you can't make the drilling companies operate under those regs. They'll just pack up and go elsewhere and leave Oklahoma a ghost land in economic ruin.
But I have to ask why a great big, rich lib like Boren who's in the twilight of his extremely successful life would jump into bed with someone like Hamm? He's already acquired the ginormous grants to OU from Hamm so why doesn't he just STFU and say and do nothing? Literally neither for or against Hamm? Hmm? Could it possibly be that he is a closet uber conservative and cozy with evil oil execs and his liberalness is just a front? Or could it possibly be that he has information from Hamm and others like McClendon, Riches, Nichols, etc. who are basically almost constantly involved at OU in a big way, that would indicate the possibility of Oklahoma being a major player in the world Oil & Gas markets that totally trump his libness? Anyone ever ask questions like this or is it just me? I can't believe that Boren would pimp himself out like that, so I'm leaning towards something along the lines of the latter...
I say
1. Stop denying it or blaming on low water levels at Arcadia lake and then blame it on increased water levels after the rain returns.
2. Stop leaning on OGS employees to keep their mouth shut about what they know.
3. When is OGS going to release their findings. 5 years of studies and they have nothing to say publicly.
I'm beginning to think they won't have any findings until all the drilling has run its course.
Meanwhile, people in Payne and Logan county are subject to earthquakes every day.
1. Stop denying it or blaming on low water levels at Arcadia lake and then blame it on increased water levels after the rain returns.
2. Stop leaning on OGS employees to keep their mouth shut about what they know.
3. When is OGS going to release their findings. 5 years of studies and they have nothing to say publicly.
I'm beginning to think they won't have any findings until all the drilling has run its course.
Meanwhile, people in Payne and Logan county are subject to earthquakes every day.
And what good is a tax at the wellhead anyway?
You gonna put it in a trust fund to fix peoples houses when the slab cracks or the chimney falls down?
Ohio still has drilling and far fewer earthquakes.
They have a proactive attitude, that OK lacks, towards solving a problem.
You gonna put it in a trust fund to fix peoples houses when the slab cracks or the chimney falls down?
Ohio still has drilling and far fewer earthquakes.
They have a proactive attitude, that OK lacks, towards solving a problem.
Exactly. If the production companies get tagged for liability do you think they'll just eat the cost? It gets passed on to the consumer one way or another. It's not beyond belief they would have an assessment against stock holders. In that case it will have an effect on a lot of mutual funds that trade on the Fortune 500 or 1000. Even a production tax would impact old production unfairly, but it would be more equitable than just lawsuits. IMO. In other cases it will get passed on to the liability insurance underwriters. That's still going to come back on everyone in the end. As much as I dislike taxes, a tax would be the easy way to do it.
Is there really anyone that hasn't benefitted by the increase in oil and gas production? Especially now when oil prices are down because supply is up, because of modern horizontal drilling and fracing.
I'm gonna guess Ohio has far fewer wells and a lot different geology as well as a different attitude.
Emotions do not dictate science. And my main point was to counteract your claim that Class II vs a hydraulically fractured well are pretty much the same. That is simply not true... both in the amount of fluids inject, lithology and substructure properties (porosity, permeability etc). For instance one of the main reason you fracture a well is to increase permeability (the ability for the fluid in the pore space to move)... this, by very nature should tell you that if it is that hard to get out... that isnt the type of formation you would want to use as a disposal well. Now when shifting to the subject of earthquakes, that is all very relevant. The explanation that "Faults are being lubed are simply layman wording that is very far from the truth. What is happening, supposedly, is that the prolonged increase in fluid in the pore space is changing the stress profile of the rock structures and near-by faults. (if you want to learn more, look up Mor's failure envelope for rock). As for "Dont cause earthquakes" where are you placing blame? There are many drillers/completion/producers out there that have made significant progress towards waste water recycling. And it isnt, necessarily because of seismic activity. What was once more economical to just shoot down an old well, is starting to shift with current drought scenarios. IE cost of water is going up.
As for shifting blame, I have not seen such and I think that claim is manifestation of emotion. What the industry is wanting to do is prevent production halt for something that may be preventable through other means (other than an all out moratorium on hydraulic fracturing).
So why are injection wells causing earthquake swarms here in Oklahoma but not in North Dakota or Texas where the drilling activity dwarfs ours here and it's the same exact practice? I guess Oklahoma has the exclusive rights to earthquake swarms.
As okietool said, difference in geology. However, you can pull a map of class II wells (fracktracker.org) for eastern Kansas and then cross reference their fault system. There is obviously an incomplete picture... but again, could be, not just differing geology, but differing stored stress in the faults. For what it's worth, when people say dead fault... no such thing. A dead fault is a fault that hasnt been active in awhile. That DOES NOT mean that there isnt stored potential energy. This was the case with the new madrid fault in the 1800s. And it was one of the most powerful quakes in the midcontinent substructure, enough so it made the mississippi flow blackwards.
There hasnt been definitive claims by the industry that its changing lake levels or drought, it HAS, however, been postulated that it could be a contributing factor and the swarms we are seeing are not due to anyone thing, but a combination of many triggered by varying events. Again, it's really hard to say. I think the industry's main concern is halting all production when it can be prevented in other methods. In all honesty... a good start would be to cease injection near known fault systems (start with a reasonable distance).
I wanted to touch on this as both you and okietool made interesting points. Differences are in regulation. Regulation as what can and can't be done in the GoM is largely different than what can and can't be done in the North Sea. And as far as I am aware, there are far less incidents in the North Sea as opposed to the GoM.
So as okietool has stated, or at least I think I know what he is saying, where does the onus truly belong? Industry is acting within the legal guidelines. And let's face it, they are motivated by money. Not just for profit but for continuing exploration, drilling and production (it's only getting more expensive to operate).
I cannot speak for all segments of the industry, but where I am involved (I span multiple companies), there is concern there. Not denial. Again, I cannot speak for company x,y,z.
I have absolutely no qualms about BP being held liable for damages it was obvious they created.
It's pretty hard to hide a blowout. And blowing out for any reason is against the rules. I'm sure the numbers are out there for what BP actually paid ( to this point ) and what their insurance carrier paid.
And from what I understand the North Sea is a completely different environment both physically and politically.
BP violated the guidelines they should pay.
From what I'm reading SandRidge did not violate the guidelines, the question is should they be penalized if they followed the rules (that's it in my mind).
I doubt we will ever have concrete proof either way on the cause of the earthquakes. Again I believe there is no single cause, it's a combination of things may all related to oil and gas production, we don't know what we don't know. Maybe we will in the future.
I say production tax and relief fund. It's a crappy solution and one that will be rife with fraud and misuse, but I don't see anything more equitable or timely available as a remedy at this time.
I still maintain virtually everyone has reaped the benefits, so virtually everyone should pick up the tab.
It's pretty hard to hide a blowout. And blowing out for any reason is against the rules. I'm sure the numbers are out there for what BP actually paid ( to this point ) and what their insurance carrier paid.
And from what I understand the North Sea is a completely different environment both physically and politically.
BP violated the guidelines they should pay.
From what I'm reading SandRidge did not violate the guidelines, the question is should they be penalized if they followed the rules (that's it in my mind).
I doubt we will ever have concrete proof either way on the cause of the earthquakes. Again I believe there is no single cause, it's a combination of things may all related to oil and gas production, we don't know what we don't know. Maybe we will in the future.
I say production tax and relief fund. It's a crappy solution and one that will be rife with fraud and misuse, but I don't see anything more equitable or timely available as a remedy at this time.
I still maintain virtually everyone has reaped the benefits, so virtually everyone should pick up the tab.
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