Sandstone bricks off Pawnee Co. Bank (9/2/16)

From Oklahoma City, Associated Press, April 7, 2018

Sandstone bricks from the historic Pawnee County Bank litter the sidewalk after an early morning earthquake in Pawnee, Oka., on Sept. 3, 2016.

COVINGTON, Okla. — The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has directed a wastewater disposal well to reduce its volume of injection after more than a dozen earthquakes rattled part of northwest Oklahoma since Friday, April 6, 2018.

The U.S. Geological Survey recorded three quakes Monday, including one near Covington now rated magnitude 4.5 after a preliminary rating of 4.3. Magnitude 3.3 and 2.8 quakes were also recorded Monday in the area about 55 miles north of Oklahoma City.

Garfield County Emergency Management Director Mike Honigsberg says there are no reports of injury or severe damage. Damage typically begins with magnitude 4.0 or stronger earthquakes, but Honigsberg notes that the area is very rural.

Many of the thousands of earthquakes in Oklahoma in recent years have been linked to wastewater injection by oil and natural gas producers.

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Parts of Oklahoma now have the same earthquake risk as California — and a new study found a scarily direct link to fracking

From an Article by Erin Brodwin, Business Insider, February 2, 2018

Oklahoma is being pummeled by earthquakes, a phenomenon scientists have strongly tied to wastewater injection and the practice of fracking.

A new study highlights just how strong that connection is. According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake threat level in some parts of the state may now be approaching the level for some parts of California.

Over the course of a few days in August, Oklahoma was pummeled by seven earthquakes. The wave started on a Tuesday night, when five quakes struck the central part of the state in less than 28 hours. The shaking continued extended into the early hours of Thursday as two more hit.

Although none of those quakes was severe enough to cause significant damage, scientists are increasingly concerned about their cause. Rather than emanating from natural tectonic shifts deep inside the Earth, these temblors appear to be the result of human activity.

Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking, involves jamming water deep into the Earth’s layers of rocks to force open crevices and extract the oil or gas buried inside. For several years, researchers have shown a link between wastewater injection, a process that’s used to dispose of waste fluids from a number of industrial activities and is similar to fracking, and the incidence of earthquakes in a region, but a new study highlights just how strong that connection is.

The authors of the latest paper, published this week in the journal Science, found that they could use the depth of the wastewater injection sites to roughly predict how big the earthquake they caused would be.

In other words, the deeper the injection site, the stronger the quake.

The researchers were confident enough in their assertions to make a recommendation:”Reducing the depth of injections could significantly reduce the likelihood of larger, damaging earthquakes,” Thomas Gernon, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Southampton, wrote in an article for The Conversation.

Oklahoma’s earthquake threat level is now predicted to be roughly the same as California

Until recently, earthquakes in Oklahoma were few and far between. In 2010, the state experienced just 41 tremors. By comparison, Southern California has about 10,000 earthquakes each year.

But that disparity may be shrinking. According to a forecast from the US Geological Survey, the risk of a significant and damaging earthquake in some parts of Oklahoma is now roughly the same as the risk in parts of California.

“The chance of having Modified Mercalli Intensity VI or greater (damaging earthquake shaking) is 5-12% per year in north-central Oklahoma and southern Kansas, similar to the chance of damage caused by natural earthquakes at sites in parts of California,” the forecast reads.

Over the past few years, Oklahoma has weathered hundreds of significant quakes— more than 900 in 2015 alone, according to The Conversation — as have parts of several other Midwestern states. The region is replete with eons-old fault lines that went quiet long ago, but wastewater operations appear to be re-awakening some of those faults.

Much (but not all) of that wastewater injection is associated with the fracking boom, which has led the practice to become more common in recent years, especially in Oklahoma.

“Our study is just the first step,” Gernon said. “We need the support of researchers, operators and regulators, to ensure this approach has a lasting impact on reducing man-made earthquakes.”

Oklahoma energy companies want earthquake lawsuit dismissed

From an Article of the Associated Press, June 3, 2016

Oklahoma City (AP) — Three Oklahoma energy companies want a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit demanding they reduce injection volumes at wastewater disposal wells that could be triggering earthquakes.

The lawsuit was filed in February by members of the Oklahoma Sierra Club. It asks that Devon Energy Corp., Chesapeake Energy Corp. and New Dominion LLC reduce production waste at wells.

But the companies say in legal filings that the Oklahoma Corporation Commission is already taking action to reduce volumes of wastewater in disposal wells, The Oklahoman reported Friday (http://bit.ly/22COFoL ).

The commission has issued a series of voluntary directives covering more than 600 disposal wells. In addition, the Coordinating Council on Seismic Activity brings together regulators, researchers and energy industry representatives to respond to seismicity.

“Through the efforts of the governor, the state Legislature, the OCC and other state agencies, Oklahoma is in the midst of implementing a coherent, well-coordinated and comprehensive public policy to address seismicity,” Chesapeake Energy said in a court filing.

While the three companies were responsible for about two-thirds of the wastewater injected in 2014, they said any injunction against them wouldn’t cover other operators who might also be contributing to induced seismicity.

The companies also said anybody with concerns should go through the OCC to modify injection well permits.

In response, the Sierra Club said it had no issues with the state’s response, but believes more could be done. It said commission action hasn’t stopped the earthquakes, with more than 300 recorded since the beginning of the year with magnitude greater than 3.0.

The group said it hasn’t had any opportunity to oppose permits because all the volume reductions so far have been voluntary.

“The OCC has not yet issued a mandatory order to reduce injection,” the Sierra Club said. “In addition, the voluntary directives issued to date have not stopped the earthquakes, or even reduced their frequency or intensity.”

In its answer to the lawsuit, Devon disclosed it is selling some disposal wells as part of a previously announced $200 million deal to sell noncore assets in Oklahoma’s Mississippian formation. White Star Petroleum LLC, formerly American Energy-Woodford LLC, is the buyer.

——  See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

Fracking Activities Cause Eastern Ohio Earthquakes

Fracking Confirmed as Cause of Ohio Earthquake

From an Article by Cole Mellino, EcoWatch.com, January 6, 2015

Ohio is now on a similar trajectory to Oklahoma, which saw a five-fold increase in earthquakes in 2014. A new study published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America has confirmed that a fracking operation near Poland Township in Ohio activated a previously unknown fault in the Earth, causing 77 earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 1.0 to 3.0 between March 4 and March 12 in 2014. The drilling company, Hilcorp Energy, was forced to halt operations by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources on March 10 after nearby residents felt the 3.0-magnitude earthquake.

A new study published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America has confirmed that a fracking operation near Poland Township in Ohio activated a previously unknown fault in the Earth.

Robert Skoumal, who co-authored the study with Michael Brudzinski and Brian Currie at Miami University of Ohio, compared these earthquakes to well stimulation reports and found the earthquakes “coincided temporally and spatially with hydraulic fracturing at specific stages of the stimulation. The seismic activity outlined a roughly vertical, east-west oriented fault within one kilometer of the well.” Fracking at other nearby wells did not produce seismic activity, which suggests that the fault is limited in its scope.

But, if Oklahoma’s major increase in earthquakes tells us anything, it’s that it could get worse for Ohio if fracking increases. From 1975 to 2008, Oklahoma averaged one to three earthquakes of magnitude 3 or greater a year. In 2009, that number jumped to 20. In 2011, the Sooner state experienced its largest recorded quake with a magnitude of 5.7. In 2014, there were 564 quakes with a magnitude of 3 or greater, compared to only 100 in 2013. And 19 of those earthquakes were magnitude 4 or greater, the strength at which experts say significant damage can occur.

In May 2014, the Oklahoma Geological Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey reported that “the spike in the number of earthquakes meant it was much more likely that the state could suffer a damaging earthquake of magnitude 5.5 or greater.” They also reported that fracking was “likely a contributing factor.” The researchers believe Oklahoma’s activity is spreading north into Kansas, which had only two earthquakes in 2013 but 42 in 2014. Most of those quakes were near the border with Oklahoma.

Skoumal also points out, “We just don’t know where all the faults are located.” That puts us at risk of activating more previously unknown faults and increasing the risk of damaging earthquakes. Governor Andrew Cuomo banned fracking in New York in December, citing earthquakes as one of the reasons along with concerns of contamination of drinking water and climate change.

See also:

Earthquakes + Massive Water Consumption = Consequences of Fracking

Millennium gas pipeline project

Marcellus natural gas takeaway pipeline projects advance

From an Article by Brett Wessler, Dairy Herd News, February 21, 2014

Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved three projects to increase natural gas takeaway capacity from the Marcellus Shale formation. On February 11, FERC approved the TEAM 2014 project expansions on Spectra’s Texas Eastern Transmission Co. (Tetco) pipeline. TEAM stands for Texas Eastern Appalachia to Market. The next day, FERC issued an environmental impact statement (EIS) on a new pipeline and related compressor station project—Williams’s Constitution Pipeline and the Iroquois Pipeline’s Wright Interconnect Project (WIP). The EIS recommended conditional approval for the two projects, pending the adoption of measures to mitigate their environmental impact. WIP has a projected in-service date of March 2015, while the Constitution Pipeline projects the beginning of service in late 2015 or 2016.

The TEAM 2014 project would provide Tetco with capacity to move an additional 0.59 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) out of the Marcellus from interconnects in southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Expansions would allow for bidirectional flows on portions of Tetco that currently only flow gas from the Gulf and Rockies Express Pipeline into the Northeast. Two shippers—Chevron and EQT Energy—have contracted for the full amount of the capacity expansions. Rockies Express deliveries into the Northeast have declined over the past two years, and in November, FERC upheld a petition from Rockies Express Pipeline LLC allowing for the establishment of firm agreements to reverse direction and move gas east-to-west on the pipeline.

Chevron booked 0.29 Bcf/d of capacity to move gas on the expanded Tetco pipeline from Uniontown, Pennsylvania, to Lambertville, New Jersey, where Tetco connects with Spectra’s Algonquin Gas Transmission (AGT) pipeline. EQT Energy booked the remaining 0.29 Bcf/d of firm capacity to move 0.24 Bcf/d of Marcellus gas south to Tetco’s AA market zone in the Gulf of Mexico region, and 0.05 Bcf/d west to Lebanon, Ohio, where Tetco connects with the Rockies Express system. Outflows from the Northeast to other parts of the country as a result of these expansions would further decrease net flows of natural gas into the northeastern United States. These decreased flows have largely resulted from increasing Marcellus production, which enabled the Northeast to satisfy a greater portion of its own demand, and increasingly, send gas to other regions. TEAM 2014 would also help alleviate capacity constraints in transporting natural gas to northeastern markets, which contribute to high natural gas and power prices during periods of peak demand.

FERC also issued an EIS that recommended the construction, with modifications to the original plan, of the Constitution Pipeline. This pipeline would deliver up to 0.64 Bcf/d of Marcellus gas from Susquehanna County, in northeastern Pennsylvania, to Wright, New York, where the Wright Compressor Station is currently located. Iroquois would build a new compressor station at an adjacent facility under WIP, and modify the existing compressor station. Cabot Oil & Gas has a binding agreement for 0.49 Bcf/d of firm capacity on the Constitution Pipeline, while Southwestern Energy has an agreement for the remaining 0.15 Bcf/d.

The Iroquois Pipeline currently transports gas south to the Wright Compressor Station from its interconnect with TransCanada’s Canadian Mainline in Waddington, New York. At Wright, Iroquois interconnects with Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) northern 200 line, which can flow gas to New England customers via its interconnect with AGT south of Boston, but has delivered increasing amounts of natural gas to the Canadian Mainline via its Niagara Falls interconnect with TransCanada.

The Constitution Pipeline’s ability to move Marcellus production to northeastern consumers would significantly benefit from construction of TGP’s planned Northeast Expansion Project. This project would take gas from Wright to Dracut, Massachusetts, where it would connect with TGP’s existing pipeline as well as a line jointly operated by Spectra’s Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline and the Portland Natural Gas Transmission System. Open season for firm capacity agreements on the Northeast Expansion Project began on February 13, and will continue until March 28. Project capacity could range from 0.60 Bcf/d to 2.20 Bcf/d, according to TGP documents.

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Natural gas pipeline firm eyes $2 billion expansion in Pa.

Pittsburgh Post Gazette (Associated Press), February 21, 2014

Tulsa, Okla.-based Williams Partners says it’s planning to seek approval for a $2.1 billion natural gas pipeline project in Pennsylvania that it hopes to complete in 2017. Williams said the proposed Atlantic Sunrise project is designed to transfer more natural gas from Marcellus Shale-producing areas in northern Pennsylvania to heavily populated East Coast markets.

The project will include adding capacity and compression to the Transco Leidy line near Wilkes-Barre and adding a new section, the Central Penn Line, to connect it to the Transco mainline about 100 miles away in southern York County, Williams officials said. It has yet to get permits or seek approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Williams Partners is a subsidiary of The Williams Companies Inc., which operates 15,000 miles of interstate natural gas pipelines.

More Data Missing in WV

Are the Gas Workers from WV or from TX and OK?

From Article by Ken Ward, Charleston Gazette

Date:  October 27, 2013

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Last week, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s administration told state lawmakers that the boom in natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale field “continues to have a positive impact on West Virginia’s economy.”

Employment in oil and gas industries grew by just more than 20 percent in 2012, according to a report from the Department of Commerce’s Workforce West Virginia division. Average wages also increased, from about $70,000 to $75,600, the reports said.

But the annual report left out some important information: How many of the jobs created by the Marcellus rush are going to West Virginia residents, and how many to out-of-state workers?

For the second year in a row, the Tomblin administration report did not provide that key — and legislatively mandated — data about the residency of natural gas industry workers.

The Commerce Department added information about the race, ethnicity and gender of gas industry workers to this year’s report. But, “Unfortunately, there are still some details we are unable to provide,” an agency spokeswoman said.

As companies race to tap into the Marcellus gas reserves and build associated pipelines and gas-processing facilities, organized labor groups have complained that companies were bringing in out-of-state workers to fill too many of the new jobs.

During a special session in late 2011 that focused on new environmental rules on drilling, a few lawmakers tried to address the workforce issue. They proposed language to require companies to submit new reports to the state to provide an employee residency breakdown.

Industry lobbyists objected to this language, and it was removed during closed-door negotiations between the Tomblin administration and those lobbyists.

A committee bill, approved in the House after months of discussion at interim meetings, had required companies to disclose the information. But the governor’s bill, which eventually passed, instead mandated a government study by the Commerce Department.

Under the final version, the state’s report was required to include, among other things, a review of the number of jobs created for legal West Virginia residents and non-residents and a review of “the number of employees domiciled” in West Virginia.

See also:  www.FrackCheckWV.net

IHS Global Insight: Study of Jobs and Job Growth

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Data Seconded by EmploymentCrossing Job Research Data

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Job search data at Employment Crossing affirms the jobs trend emphasized by the IHS Global Insight report. (The report was funded by the oil and gas industry).

PWWEB News, December 26, 2012

A newly released study by IHS Global Insight claims that unconventional oil and gas production have become an engine of job creation and economic growth.

According to the report, America’s New Energy Future – The Unconventional Oil and Gas Revolution and the US Economy, shale energy has created at least 576,000 jobs in Texas, 102,600 jobs in Pennsylvania, 96,500 jobs in California, 78,900 jobs in Louisiana, and 77,600 jobs in Colorado. The report also claims that by 2020, Louisiana and Colorado would be displaced from their position in the unconventional oil and gas sector by Oklahoma and Ohio. The report was published in December and is co-sponsored by the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy.

The IHS report claims that already in 2012, employment in the entire unconventional oil and gas production sectors have added more than 1.7 million jobs to the economy. This number is expected to grow up to 2.5 million jobs by 2015, and 3 million jobs by 2020.

According to the IHS direct employment in the sector consists of about 20% of the jobs actually resulting from unconventional oil and natural gas activity while the rest is contributed by indirect and induced employment.

Job search data at Employment Crossing affirms the jobs trend emphasized by the IHS report.

Right now, as of 26th December, 2012, EmploymentCrossing lists about 50,766 job openings in Texas, out of which 7,863 jobs were in the oil and gas sector. However, a great number of the jobs in the sector, which varied from legal jobs, engineering jobs, and blue-collar jobs to accounting jobs were not directly into production of oil and gas, but indirectly supported by the industry or induced by it.

Pennsylvania shows about 75,158 total job openings on EmploymentCrossing, out of which 904 current jobs were related with oil and gas production though only 99 current openings had to do directly with the production of gas and oil. Similarly, California shows about 210,575 current job openings on EmploymentCrossing, out of which 1,569 oil and gas related jobs were there, though there were only 142 current openings in work directly in oil and gas production.

Speaking on the seeming anomaly about numbers, Harrison Barnes, the CEO of EmploymentCrossing said, “Live job openings in the oil and gas sector on job boards always remains few in number, because they are filled usually within days, and cease to be listed on EmploymentCrossing. However, the ratio of job distribution in the gas and oil sector as highlighted by the IHS report is very valid, because, as job openings listed on EmploymentCrossing show, about 20% of the jobs are directly into oil and gas production lines and 80% are indirect jobs associated with the industry. For example jobs of analytics, consultants or the jobs of attorneys with oil and gas experience would not be categorized directly under oil and gas jobs as they are not working at production lines.”

The original version of the above article is on the  PRWeb Internet site.