TULSA, Okla. -- The Oklahoma Geological Survey has begun focusing
on offers to reduce the risk of oil-field work involving injection wells that
some believe might be causing earthquakes.
The Tulsa World reported (http://bit.ly/126D2vn ) Saturday
that the summary report said the chance of oil field-caused earthquakes is
small, but could be reduced further with "appropriate industry
practices" involving injection disposal wells.
"Although the risk of damaging induced earthquakes is
quite small, that risk may be mitigated by appropriate industry practices like
current idea of the science," in accordance with the summary of a
celebration of environmental groups, state agencies, nongovernmental
organizations, and oil and coal operators.
The meeting summary said the discussion was "in
response to concerns that oil and gas industry operations (specifically,
injection of drilling waste and production fluids into the ground) may be a
cause of earthquakes."
The Oklahoma Geological Survey continues to be skeptical of
conclusions that oil-field activity produced a number of earthquakes close to
injection disposal wells in the Lincoln County beginning in 2001 and such as
the magnitude-5.7 earthquake on Nov. 6, 2011, that has been the most important
in recorded state history.
The oil-field activity isn't hydraulic fracturing, a
procedure also known as tracking, according to Austin Holland, a research
seismologist for your Oklahoma Geological Survey.
Tracking can be a procedure for injecting fluids into the
earth's surface as a way to release minerals for example oil or propane.
Injection wells typically inject waste fluids to the earth.
As soon as the recommendations are developed, "we'll
obviously have a very critical look their way and find out where we change from
there," Skinner said, adding that before the document is completed, it's
impossible to convey if the geological survey's efforts will cause new
oil-field rules.
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