Oklahoma Shuts Down Energy Companies' Disposal Wells In Area Of Strong Quake

[workinclasszero]

Oklahoma Shuts Down Energy Companies' Disposal Wells In Area Of Strong Quake
September 4, 20169:24 AM ET BILL CHAPPELL

After one of the strongest earthquakes ever to hit Oklahoma struck Saturday, state regulators ordered oil and gas companies to shut down all their wastewater disposal wells in a 725-square-mile area around the site of the quake's epicenter near Pawnee.

The seismic activity immediately raised suspicions that it was linked to injection wells that oil and gas companies use as part of fracking and other operations.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/04/492600714/oklahoma-shuts-down-energy-companies-disposal-wells-in-area-of-strong-quake

[malaise]

1. Isn't that like locking the stable gate after the horses

have bolted. Weren't these fuggers warned that this would happen?

[workinclasszero]

2. I would say you are right

Its a little late plus are those wells shut down forever?

I doubt it.

[Hortensis]

3. The next- or tied-largest quake was in 2011, also 5.6.

And this quake comes after some restrictions on fracking that were expected to drop the number of quakes this year from well over 800 to somewhat less than 800...

NY Times:

Thousands of earthquakes have hit Oklahoma in recent years. Most have been imperceptible, but the number that can be felt — generally of magnitude 3.0 and higher — has risen significantly. Only three earthquakes of that size or stronger were recorded in 2009. Last year, the state had 907 such quakes. So far this year, there have been more than 400.

The United States Geological Survey said in a statement that oil and gas activity had set off many earthquakes in the state, but that it could not yet say the practice caused Saturday’s quake.

“Without studying the specifics of the wastewater injection and oil and gas production in this area, the U.S.G.S. cannot currently conclude whether or not this particular earthquake was caused by industrial-related, human activities,” it said.

Oklahoma has thousands of wastewater disposal wells. Since mid-2015, the state has ordered operators of some to reduce the volume of wastewater injected, in the hope of reducing earthquakes.

Fracking is supposed to buy us time to transition to sustainable energy while reducing emissions, of course--our wellbeing and even lives literally completely dependent on continuation of the incredibly enormous supplies of energy needed by 330 M people.

A transition that could and should have started at least in the 1970s, also of course, but those horses bolted long ago. Thing is, we've scarcely begun the transition, although Obama's accomplished more than most could expect against enormous dark money, congressional and legal opposition.

Our current wellbeing and prosperity are very much fueled by the natural gas and other products made possible by fracking. All I can say is, vote Democrat as if life as you know it depends on it. Because it really well may.

[smirkymonkey]

4. I didn't realize that Fracking could actually set off the fault lines

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/energy/10174188/Fracking-may-leave-fault-lines-vulnerable-to-earthquakes.html


"However, new findings by geologists at Columbia University in the US have shown that tremors in areas where water has been used to extract oil or gas underground tend to occur around the same time as major earthquakes in other parts of the world.
They say the fluids pumped into wells can weaken fault lines and leave them vulnerable to seismic waves passing from somewhere else.
“The fluids are driving the faults to their tipping point,” said Dr Nicholas van der Elst, a researcher at Columba University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
“The remote triggering by big earthquakes is an indication the area is critically stressed."
Earthquakes are known to be triggered elsewhere in the world by large quakes, but until now have largely been found to be a natural phenomenon."

[Hortensis]

5. Or how to get really scared? Thanks! The crust under Oklahoma

breaking apart from local fracking is already very bad -- before the shocking thought that those faults are affected by movement on faults in far sides of this big globe we live on.

I read that energy companies just managed to keep two anti-fracking initiatives off the ballot in Colorado. $15 millions turned out to be the amount of money needed.

[smirkymonkey]

6. They are fracking on the New Madrid fault line.

If that isn't scary, I don't know what is. I suppose it is going to take a major disaster to wake people up.

[Lars39]

7. omg, that's insane.

And scary as hell.