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Oklahoma is recording 2-1/2 earthquakes daily of a magnitude
3 or greater, a seismicity rate 600 times greater than observed
before 2008, the report by the Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS)
said.
It is "very likely that the majority of the earthquakes" are
triggered by wastewater injection activities tied to the oil and
gas industry, the OGS said.
It warned residents should be prepared for a "significant
earthquake."
Last year the state recorded 585 quakes of magnitude 3 or
greater, up sharply from 109 in 2013. Prior to 2008, Oklahoma
averaged less than two a year.
The spike in earthquake activity has put Oklahoma in the center
of a national debate over whether wastewater disposal from oil
and gas production triggers earthquakes.
In response to the report, Oklahoma state Representative Cory
Williams, a Democrat, called for a moratorium on oil and gas
wastewater disposal wells.
The energy sector is a major part of Oklahoma's economy,
responsible for one in every four jobs.
The report said seismicity rates have increased with injection
volumes. Other reports have also found links between oil and gas
work and earthquakes that have rocked communities throughout the
U.S. Midwest and South.
The water at issue is extracted from the ground along with oil
and gas, separated and re-injected into deep wells.
The drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or
"fracking," generates large amounts of wastewater. But the OGS
report said fracking is responsible for only "a small percentage
of the total volume of wastewater injected into disposal wells
in Oklahoma."
State regulators have been monitoring wastewater well activity,
limiting permits in some areas and requiring some operators to
take steps to mitigate earthquake risk.
On Tuesday, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which regulates
oil and gas work, said the issue was its top priority.
"There will no doubt be more steps to take, and all options...
are on the table," the OCC said in a statement.
The Oklahoma Oil & Gas Association (OKOGA) said further study is
needed.
“There may be a link between earthquakes and disposal wells, but
we... still don’t know enough about how wastewater injection
impacts Oklahoma’s underground faults,” said OKOGA President
Chad Warmington.
(Reporting by Carey Gillam in Kansas City, Missouri and Edward
McAllister in New York, additional reporting by Ellen
Wulfhorst,; Editing by David Gregorio and Eric Walsh)
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