• 3 minutes e-car sales collapse
  • 6 minutes America Is Exceptional in Its Political Divide
  • 11 minutes Perovskites, a ‘dirt cheap’ alternative to silicon, just got a lot more efficient
  • 21 hours GREEN NEW DEAL = BLIZZARD OF LIES
  • 2 days Could Someone Give Me Insights on the Future of Renewable Energy?
  • 2 days How Far Have We Really Gotten With Alternative Energy
  • 19 mins They pay YOU to TAKE Natural Gas
  • 6 days e-truck insanity
  • 4 days An interesting statistic about bitumens?
  • 9 days Oil Stocks, Market Direction, Bitcoin, Minerals, Gold, Silver - Technical Trading <--- Chris Vermeulen & Gareth Soloway weigh in
  • 9 days "What’s In Store For Europe In 2023?" By the CIA (aka RFE/RL as a ruse to deceive readers)

Breaking News:

Asian Oil Imports Dropped in April

Oklahoma Earthquake Gives More Impetus To Fracking Fears

Oklahoma was struck by a magnitude 5.1 earthquake on Saturday, the third-strongest quake ever recorded in the state, which has experienced a surge in seismic activity in recent years, feeding ongoing fears about the connection to hydraulic fracturing.

A total of nine minor earthquakes were reported, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quakes were felt across Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Nebraska, Texas, Arkansas and Iowa.

The epicenter was near the East Campbell Gas Field and about 75 miles west of Cushing—the “Pipeline Crossroads--and one of the largest oil storage hubs in the world.

Oklahoma is one of the top five oil production states and accounts for some 3 percent to 4 percent of total U.S. output. The U.S. Energy Information Administration last week raised its estimate for total state production by 100,000 barrels per day, up 25 percent to 30 percent percent.

While Oklahoma’s oil fields have experienced a boom over the past decade thanks to fracking and horizontal drilling, the state also reported 907 earthquakes of magnitude last year. This represents a 54 percent increase in earthquakes from 2014 alone.

Related: Is Venezuela Trying To Hide Oil Assets With This Bizarre Move?

In January, earthquakes in Oklahoma led to calls for the governor to make changes to oil and gas drilling regulations. Regulators responded by ordering companies within 10 miles of the earthquake's epicenter to reduce their well disposal activity.

Activists and local residents criticize efforts as falling short of what is necessary.

In late January, two lawsuits in Oklahoma were brought accusing more than a dozen oil and gas companies of triggering recent earthquakes by disposing of their drilling waste in deep wells.

Related: UAE Offers India Free Oil To Ease Storage Woes

ADVERTISEMENT

The lawsuits target Devon Energy Production, Grayhorse Operating, Marjo Operating Mid-Continent, New Dominion, Northport Production, Pedestal Oil, Rainbow Service, R.C. Taylor Operating, Special Energy, Sundance Energy, TNT Operating and White Operating. The suits allege that these companies’ wastewater disposal wells are to blame, and more specifically that the injection of fracking wastewater into these wells is causing or contributing to the earthquakes.

By James Burgess of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:



Join the discussion | Back to homepage



Leave a comment

Leave a comment

EXXON Mobil -0.35
Open57.81 Trading Vol.6.96M Previous Vol.241.7B
BUY 57.15
Sell 57.00
Oilprice - The No. 1 Source for Oil & Energy News