Officials say fault line may be to blame for earthquakes in Permian Basin | state

CARLSBAD — State regulators are examining the possibility that a fault in rock formations beneath southeastern New Mexico is to blame for a recent spate of earthquakes in the region and that wastewater injection from oil and gas operations is exacerbating the problem.

The largest earthquake of the year struck across the Permian Basin from its epicenter in Midland, Texas, on September 16, shaking ground across the region and across the state line in southeastern New Mexico.

The US Geological Survey, which monitors earthquakes around the world, said the 5.1-magnitude quake was felt as far north as Amarillo, Texas, and as far west as Roswell, Carlsbad and Alamogordo in southern New Mexico.

“We estimate there is likely a fault line in that area,” said Brandon Powell, deputy director of the New Mexico Petroleum Conservation Division, the main regulatory and compliance agency for the state's oil and gas industry. “This is something we are investigating. We are looking into whether this bug was affected.”

A fault is a break between two pieces of rock underground, allowing the pieces to move. During an earthquake, rocks slide rapidly at the fault, causing the surface to shake or vibrate.

The Sept. 16 earthquake was part of a trend affecting the Permian Basin, a region known for heavy oil and gas operations that has recently become more associated with earthquakes. Powell said the rise in the Permian Basin reported by the USGS is believed to be related to oil field wastewater.

Known as “produced water,” this industry is a combination of backflow from water pumped underground during hydraulic fracturing and water brought to the surface from the shale where oil and gas are extracted. The produced water is usually rich in brine and toxic metals, and is not suitable for human consumption or use.

The liquid is usually disposed of via injection wells that pump it back underground.

The apparent connection to the earthquakes prompted New Mexico regulators to act. The Department of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources, the parent agency of the Petroleum Conservation Division, eliminated several oilfield wastewater disposal wells in southeastern New Mexico earlier this year.

All of the canceled orders were in an area the department calls the “County Line Seismic Response Area,” which runs along the border of Eddy and Lea counties in the Permian Basin.

The action came about three years after the agency adopted limits on the amount of water that could be injected into certain wells, based on how close they were to seismic activity, and ordered some wells to be closed if they were too close to a 3.5-magnitude quake. In December 2023, the department began allowing some of those amounts to increase, but officials said they were still cautious.

There have been no events on the New Mexico side of the state line in the past 30 days, Ben Shelton, acting deputy secretary of energy, minerals and natural resources, said during a Sept. 25 interview with the Carlsbad Current Argus. This trend has held true in the weeks since the interview, even though a 3.2 magnitude earthquake was reported near Eunice on September 25.

“It means our actions are working,” Shelton said. “Maybe that's why we don't get much.”

A magnitude 5 earthquake is typically felt at the surface and will likely cause some property damage, according to the USGS.

Geological Survey data showed that although the September earthquake was the region's largest of the year at a magnitude of 5.1, seismic activity continued to impact the Permian Basin.

Most recently, a 4.2 magnitude earthquake was reported on November 1 in an area of ​​Texas near Whites City, New Mexico. The US Geological Survey said several earthquakes with a magnitude between 2.5 and 3.8 have been reported since September. Most of the quakes were closest to Whites City at the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, but just across the border in Texas.

As concerns about earthquakes grow, Powell said something must be done about wastewater injection.

Oil and gas production “is up in New Mexico,” he said. “I don't see a decline coming. The water has to be diverted elsewhere. I think the demand is still there.”

Industry efforts to treat produced water to remove much of the toxic chemicals and brine, then reuse it in subsequent drilling operations, could mitigate some of the effects of injection, said Missy Currier, president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.

In collaboration with New Mexico State University, state officials formed the Produced Water Research Consortium in 2019 to study the possibility of using the liquid in other sectors. This work has been ongoing throughout 2024; The state does not currently permit such use outside of the oil and gas industry.

Currier said research has already revealed the potential use of produced water in many other sectors, as an alternative source in drought-stricken New Mexico.

“Research by academia, national laboratories, the private sector, NGOs, and state and federal agencies shows that treated water at appropriate levels can be used for appropriate and permitted industrial, agricultural, and domestic use,” she said.

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