Texas Oil Regulator Investigating Earthquakes
by Andreas Exarheas
click here to read this article at Rigzone.com
*this article was not written by Roseland Oil & Gas
The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) has been investigating earthquakes that occurred recently in the Camp Springs area along the Fisher/Scurry County line in West Texas, an RRC spokesperson told Rigzone.
“In efforts to reduce seismicity possibly caused by underground injection of produced water, several operators in the area have converted deep saltwater disposal wells to shallow saltwater disposal wells within the last year,” the spokesperson told Rigzone late Friday, noting that “disposal wells are used to dispose produced water, which is water that comes out from wells during oil and gas production”.
“RRC inspectors are out inspecting saltwater disposal wells within two and a half miles of the cluster of earthquakes this week [week commencing July 22] and the RRC will evaluate next steps that can be taken to mitigate earthquakes,” the spokesperson added.
“We’ll continue to take measures necessary to protect the environment and residents in the area,” the RRC spokesperson went on to state.
On July 26, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake occurred at 3.3 km depth, 17 km north northeast of Hermleigh, Texas, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) website shows.
“This event is identified as the potential mainshock of an earthquake sequence,” the site states.
On July 23, a 4.9 magnitude earthquake occurred at 3.2 km depth, 17 km north northeast of Hermleigh, Texas, according to the site.
The RRC is the state agency with primary regulatory jurisdiction over the oil and natural gas industry, pipeline transporters, natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline industry, natural gas utilities, the LP-gas industry, critical natural gas infrastructure, and coal and uranium surface mining operations, the RRC website states.
In a statement posted on its site earlier this month, the RRC noted that its geologists and engineers will work with environmental experts from other states “to analyze an important agency program that protects underground sources of drinking water”.
“The RRC has requested the Groundwater Protection Council (GWPC), a respected organization of national groundwater experts, conduct an independent peer review of its Class II Underground Injection Control (UIC) program,” that statement said.
Class II injection wells are used for oil and gas operations such as enhanced oil recovery, disposal of produced water, and underground hydrocarbon storage, the RRC highlighted in the statement, adding that the GWPC is comprised of more than 30 ground water and environmental regulatory agencies in states spanning coast to coast
“The GWPC’s peer reviews include, but are not limited to, an evaluation of the state’s rules, permit application workflows, permit review criteria, protection of underground drinking water, well inspection practices, program funding, and data management,” the RRC said in the statement.
“The RRC’s UIC program has been commended by federal regulators in recent years. The Environmental Protection Agency’s annual evaluations have highlighted RRC’s strong oversight of injection wells in protecting underground sources of drinking water and our continuing efforts to mitigate seismicity in Texas,” it added.
In the statement, Paul Dubois, RRC Assistant Director of the Oil and Gas Division, said, “the RRC has had success stories with our UIC program which began in 1982”.
“One example is the significant steps we took to help mitigate earthquakes in West Texas by setting injection limits for produced water disposal. We even leveraged artificial intelligence for that work. It’s always good to have a new set of eyes on our mission, and having other states’ experts review our program will help further strengthen our important work,” he added.
The Texas UIC peer review could take between six months to a year to complete, according to the RRC statement.
Last month, in a separate statement posted on its site, the RRC noted that its commissioners approved the agency’s Fiscal Year 2025 Oil and Gas Monitoring and Enforcement Plan.
“The annual plans define the RRC’s strategic priorities for monitoring oil and gas activities and enforcing regulations across the state,” the RRC said in the statement, adding that they “include the agency’s extensive field operations activities such as well inspections, orphaned well pluggings, and site remediations”.
“New to this year’s plan is information related to technical permitting, and RRC monitoring and enforcement activities performed by the Oil and Gas Division’s Technical Permitting and Administrative Compliance Units,” the statement said.
“One example is the compliance team established by the division in 2023 to focus on post-permitting compliance at surface waste management facilities regulated by the Environmental Permits Section,” it added.
“Also, for the first time, the RRC sought public feedback this year prior to developing the plan. Some of that input was used to develop priorities for monitoring and enforcement efforts in the plan, including providing more comprehensive flaring data, and evaluating difference methods to reduce orphaned wells older than 20 years,” it continued.
In that statement, Danny Sorrells, RRC Deputy Executive Director and Oil and Gas Director, said, “we continue to utilize our staff’s expertise and the agency’s technological advancements to serve Texans and their communities”.
“The new monitoring and enforcement plan provides more information on how we plan to utilize those key resources for regulation as the Texas oil and gas industry continues to be a vital element of the state and U.S. economy,” he added.
by Andreas Exarheas
click here to read this article at Rigzone.com
*this article was not written by Roseland Oil & Gas