Induced Seismicity | Russell T. Rudy Energy LLC
In an article in “World Oil”, author William J. Pike discusses the issues around induced seismicity (man-caused earthquakes). While it is a current topic of discussion, recent studies indicate that it is really nothing new.
An article in the Houston Chronicle by Alicia Chang cites studies by the USGS and the University of Texas at Austin (UT) suggesting that this is not a new issue. The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) study of seismic events and drilling activity in the Los Angeles Basin from 1915 to the early 1930’s indicates 13 instances in which there might have been a relationship. Even the disastrous 1933 earthquake could have been related to oil and gas activity. More surprisingly, research by Cliff Frolich at UT indicates that earthquakes as a result of oil and gas operations in Texas might go back as far as 1925.
All of this has led to a public perception that fracking has caused seismic events. However, the widely held opinion of the scientific community is that salt water injection wells, rather than fracking, are to blame in the few cases where a problem exists.
A study of Texas seismic events conducted at Stanford University by Jens-Erik Lund Snee and Mark D. Zoback found that these episodes were “occurring on faults that are already likely to be active.” Harold Gurrola at Texas Tech University studied seismic activity along the Llano Front which runs from Van Horn through Snyder, TX and up into central Oklahoma. He concluded that “If a 7.0 happens because of fluid injection it was going to happen anyway.”
Pike notes that there are 144,000 brine injection wells disposing of 47 million barrels of liquid a day. However, he ends the article on a humorous note, citing a study by Nicholas van der Elst of the USGS. His research indicated that the gravitational forces between the sun and moon can trigger a special kind of earthquake on California’s San Andreas Fault. Pike concludes, “So I say we blame the heavens.”
I guess we have to make up our own minds.
To read the article in its entirety, please go to http://www.worldoil.com/magazine/2016/december-2016/industry-leaders-outlook-2017/induced-seismicity-issue-grows .
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