{"id":13154,"date":"2013-03-05T12:18:58","date_gmt":"2013-03-05T18:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=13154"},"modified":"2013-03-07T15:52:00","modified_gmt":"2013-03-07T21:52:00","slug":"oklahoma-geological-survey-to-monitor-injection-well-for-earthquake-activity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2013\/03\/05\/oklahoma-geological-survey-to-monitor-injection-well-for-earthquake-activity\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma Geological Survey to Monitor Injection Well for Earthquake Activity"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n

Some earthquake seismologists say oil and natural gas disposal wells, like this one near Sparks, Okla., are likely triggering earthquakes in Oklahoma and other states in the mid-continent.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Earthquakes have been increasing in Oklahoma<\/a> and other states throughout the mid-continent, and many seismologists think this increased seismicity is linked to disposal wells<\/a> used by the oil and gas industry.<\/p>

The connection has caused oil and gas regulators in some states<\/a> to re-evaluate how they issue permits for drilling. No such changes will be considered in Oklahoma until the state Geological Survey is more convinced of the link. \u00a0The organization\u2019s principal seismologist, Austin Holland, is a skeptic.<\/p>

\u201cIn the United States, there are well over 100,000 disposal wells. And there are only a handful of examples that have been identified as induced seismicity,\u201d he told StateImpact in January<\/a>.<\/p>

But the Geological Survey is installing new sensors to explore the link, the Journal Record<\/em>\u2019s Sarah Terry-Cobo reports<\/a>.<\/p>

Seismologists \u2014 even skeptics like Holland \u2014 agree that more information is needed to study disposal well-triggered earthquakes<\/a>. But gaps in data<\/a> stymie much of this research, and states don\u2019t require well operators to record the type of data scientists say they need to understand the link.<\/p>

Independent seismologists tell StateImpact they have a hard time convincing well operators \u2014 and their corporate legal departments \u2014 to provide additional data that could expose the companies to lawsuits and negative publicity.<\/p>

One injection well operator that did agree to OGS monitoring ended up withdrawing from the project \u201cdue in part to unrelated costs and also to community protests,\u201d the Journal<\/em> reports.<\/p>\n

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