Could Oklahoma be a model for reducing oil and gas earthquakes?

A USGS study used physics-based modeling to show that the number of earthquakes in Oklahoma could have been more than four times higher in 2024 without mandates requiring more shallow wastewater injection depths in oil and gas production.

Scientists say that injecting wastewater deep into the Earth near ancient Precambrian rocks on the continent has led to a higher rate of earthquakes.

The high number of earthquakes, which peaked in 2015, led the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to order wells to be capped with layers of concrete. Although the state's earthquake rate remains historically high, fewer earthquakes have rocked the state following rules and a slight decline in oil and gas production.

US Geological Survey

Seismic activity in the region increased after 2010. But capping wells to reduce injection depth after 2015 proved successful in reducing earthquakes, a USGS study found.

“We've never done this kind of study on this broad, almost statewide scale,” said Robert Skomal, a USGS geophysicist and author of the study.

Scientists, industry and policymakers agree the practice is effective, but it's unclear how other countries could use the results, Skomal said.

“The next major question is: Can we replicate what happened in Oklahoma with Texas and lower rates there as well?” Skomal asked.

Human-caused earthquakes have increased in neighboring Texas, where the Texas Railroad Commission oversees the oil and gas industry. Seismic levels there are still probably high beyond what organizers are aiming for, Skomal said.

“We have an easy task of just studying science,” he said. “Regulatory bodies have the difficult task of deciding: 'Okay, well, what do we do with this science?'

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