The earthquake that shook the city of San Antonio prompted the response of the oil regulator

An earthquake in West Texas that was felt as far away as San Antonio prompted the Texas Railroad Commission to change its response to earthquakes in the area.

On Tuesday, the agency said it was making several revisions to its response plan to reduce earthquakes in the North Culberson-Reeves Seismic Response Area — including further reducing the injection of wastewater into oil fields that has been associated with increased seismic activity.

The moves come after a 5.4-magnitude earthquake last month west of Pecos near the border of Reeves and Culberson counties. The earthquake on November 16 was the third largest in Texas history, according to the National Earthquake Information Center of the US Geological Survey.

The number of earthquakes in Texas has increased in recent years, particularly in the Permian Basin in West Texas, which is the most productive oil and gas region in the state. Scientific studies have linked the increase to the dumping of polluted brine deep underground – a common practice by oil companies at the end of fracking. Research has shown that it can awaken dormant fault lines.

Read more: Study links 1925 Texas earthquakes to oil and gas activities

In response, the Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas activity in Texas and issues permits for injection wells, created several seismic response zones as it required companies to limit water disposal and to approve an industry-led plan to reduce seismic activity.

One revision of the plan for the region of last month’s major earthquake is a reduction in targets for daily injection volumes into deep disposal wells. The operators of these wells have agreed to reduce collective volumes to offset the original target of 298,000 bpd by June 30, 2023 to 162,000 bpd by that date. That would be a 68 percent decrease in disposal volumes early this year.

The commission is also expanding the response area boundary north to the New Mexico border, increasing the size of the area covered to 2,601 square miles from 2,366 square miles. The modified area includes 78 active disposal wells.

Additional changes are expected. The committee said its staff is studying revisions of shallow well injection volume schedules as well.

It said it will also promote expanded data collection in support of earthquake research to inform policymakers of the data needs to regulate to protect populations and the environment. Data collection will include a voluntary survey of available historical and current reservoir pressure, encourage the use and reporting of continuous downhole pressure monitoring data, and evaluate the origins of disposal volumes—both from in-state and out-of-state sources.

RELATED: West Texas earthquake damages historic building on University of Health campus

The potential time lag between changes in injection rates and changes in seismicity varies; Historical activity indicates a potential lag of 12 to 18 months.

The vast majority of earthquakes in the past two decades near Pecos were likely caused by increased sewage disposal, according to a 2021 study by the Geological Survey and University of Texas scientists.

The November earthquake was the largest in Texas in nearly three decades, but it was just one of a growing number in oil and gas producing regions that have seen years of dumping injection wells. But it has made its presence known throughout the region. The November 16 earthquake was felt as far away as Carlsbad, New Mexico, El Paso and North Texas.

In San Antonio, the University of Health was forced to evacuate the historic Robert B. Green Building downtown after it was shaken by an earthquake and declared unsafe by structural engineers. The over 100-year-old building was known as the most modern hospital of its kind in the Southwest.

This story includes information from Inside Climate News.

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