Directive Reducing Disposal Volumes in Carney Area
By Office of Public Information
Following a 4.0 magnitude and smaller magnitude earthquake events in the Carney area, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s Oil and Gas Conservation Division (OGCD) has issued a directive reducing the amount of oil and gas wastewater allowed to be disposed within a 10 mile area of the 4.0 earthquake.
The directive applies to 23 disposal wells which inject into the Arbuckle formation, the state’s deepest formation.
Those Arbuckle disposal wells operating within 6 miles of the 4.0 earthquake location are to shut down indefinitely.
Arbuckle disposal wells operating with the 6 to 10 mile area from the earthquake will have their injected volumes limited:
- Disposal wells which have an average injection of 500 barrels a day or less in the latest 30 day period must not exceed that average.
- Disposal wells with average volumes over 500 barrels a day must reduce volume by 50 percent.
The volume reductions and shut-ins will be phased-in over a four week period in order to avoid a sudden change of pressure which theoretically could increase the risk of a seismic event.
Reducing the volume of oil and gas wastewater into the Arbuckle formation has been credited by the scientific community with being a key element of the more than 90 percent reduction in 3.0 magnitude earthquakes in Oklahoma since 2015.
Further directives may be issued as warranted.
