- Second 5-plus magnitude quake in last month rocks West Texas
- Permian Basin, largest crude-producer, is leader in fracking
According to Bloomberg article published on December 20, 2022, the shale industry is open to reducing underground storage of drilling waste and other measures to reduce earthquake risks after a 5.4-magnitude temblor rattled the Permian Basin.
The Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the state’s massive oil and natural gas industry, is probing disposal of saltwater left over from fracking, which occurs in the Permian region of West Texas and New Mexico more than anywhere in the world.
Quakes have been reported across Texas and Oklahoma for years in relation to the disposal of drilling wastewater in rocks close to fault lines. In response to Friday evening’s quake, the Texas Oil and Gas Association said that “reducing injection volumes” and “targeted shut-in of injection wells” are among “available tools” to reduce risks.
Since 2018 about 120 quakes of magnitude 2.5 or higher have hit within 50 kilometers (32 miles) of Friday’s tremor northwest of Midland, the unofficial capital of the Permian, the US Geological Survey said.
“The thing that’s unique here is that we’ve had two really big ones back to back,” said Virginia Palacios, executive director of non-profit watchdog group Commission Shift, referring to a 5.3-magnitude quake in November. “Typically these earthquakes have been much smaller.”
Over the past two decades, the central and eastern US have experienced more quakes, the USGS said. Magnitude 2.5 to 3 is usually the smallest felt by people, while a magnitude 4 event can cause moderate damage.
