Below is the HillCo client report from the May 12 House Energy Resources – Seismic Activity Subcommittee hearing.
The subcommittee met to discuss the following charge:
Study the current conditions surrounding the increased seismic activity in the Barnett Shale and other areas of the State. Specifically, review the possibility that increased exploration and disposal well activity could impact seismic activity. The committee shall review active oil and gas activity and injection wells in areas experiencing increased seismic activity.
- Chairman Myra Crownover described the situation in North Texas; a total of 27 earthquakes occurred this year in January; citizens are upset and need answers
- Working definitions for today’s hearing:
- Fracking – Hydraulic fracturing of rock by pumping fluids into the rock during completion of an oil well
- Injection wells – A broad category of well permitted by the Railroad Commission (RRC); primarily used by oil and gas operators by pressuring a field to enhance recovery; 25% of oil production in Texas uses injection wells either with gas or liquid
- Disposal wells – A subset of an injection well used to dispose of produced waters and other fluids
- Rep. Phil King noted most of this activity has occurred in his district in Parker County; this is a serious issue and the legislature is moving very quickly to put an investigation in place; surprised by how hard it has been to get scientific answers to questions surrounding the earthquakes
Allen Brundrett, Mayor of Azle, TX
- Mayor Brundrett described the situation in Azle and how citizens became concerned
- Scientists explained to citizens that injection wells have never been known to cause earthquakes
- Scientists are having problems getting volume and pressure data from production companies which makes it hard to study the earthquakes
Lynda Stokes, Mayor of Reno, TX
- Reno has experienced earthquakes as well and citizens are concerned that the issue is getting lost in politics
- Induced earthquakes are a worldwide issue
- Horizontal drilling uses much more water than vertical drilling
- Texas uses almost half of the total water usages in the United States
- Fracking does not even use salt water as it is called; it is poison and drillers can’t be sure the water stays where they put it
- Urged the committee to give the citizens the benefit of the doubt and shut down the disposal wells around the city and find a new way to dispose of the fracking fluid
- King noted the RRC should be the clearinghouse in settling this matter and should be proactive in pulling groups together to resolve the matter
- Brundrett noted that the RRC was very expedient in setting up the first meeting in the city; have been very helpful the entire time
Dr. Scott Tinker, University of Texas
- Testified on the correlation between injection wells and seismic activity
- More seismometers are needed to establish a baseline of seismic activity because most of it cannot be felt
Dr. Brian Stump, Southern Methodist University
- It is important to understand the context of natural seismicity versus man-made seismicity
- There have been seismic events in Texas on record as far back as the 1960s
- Earthquakes that cause damage are generally above level 3.5
- From 1970 to about 2000, there are typically 8-10 magnitude 3.5 or above earthquakes in the Southeastern US where TX is located; since then, there have been several hundred per year
- There has been a significant increase in Texas alone as well
- This could be a man-made phenomenon or a natural increase in seismicity
- The National Research Council did a study in 2013 regarding disposal or removal of fluids and earthquakes
- It is a general consensus in the scientific community that there is a relationship between removal or injection of fluid in the ground and seismic activity
- King asked what the reason is for this
- The combination of pressure and fluids on existing stressed faults can cause a slip; like putting oil on a pressure point and releasing stored energy
- Rep. Terry Canales asked how long disposal wells have been used
- The Army has been using disposal wells since the 1960s
Dr. Heather DeShon, Southern Methodist University
- 12 seismic stations have been deployed in the Azle area
- Now are recording very many small earthquakes; have recorded over 300 earthquakes since the equipment was deployed at the end of 2013
- Many of these were not felt earthquakes
- King asked what the objective is of deploying the seismometers
- To determine the actual size and potential future activity of the faults
Dr. Craig Pearson, Seismologist, Texas Railroad Commission
- The earliest example of a human caused earthquake was in Gladewater in 1957; likely was caused by oil and gas activity
- There was an earthquake in West Texas in 1931 at magnitude 6 as a result of “mountain building”
- There was an earthquake in Timpson, TX in 2013 at magnitude 4.8
- Rep. Chris Paddie asked how the correlation was made that the Gladewater earthquake was caused by oil and gas activity
- Scientists generally claim that the strongest indication is the cause of an earthquake
- King asked what will happen in the next year for Pearson
- Ramping up the outreach program that has begun; with the help of SMU and others, seven letters have been sent out requesting information that may be of help to researchers; hoping to be able to say the issue has been studied and a definitive answer can be given as to what caused the earthquakes in the Reno/Azle area
- King asked if industry is cooperating
- Anyone that has been reached out to is helping to the best of their ability; there are some proprietary data issues that are a speed bump but RRC is trying to work those out
- King would like RRC to spearhead meetings and pull all the stakeholders together to get the information flowing
- There are currently 3,597 active disposal wells, 4,128 active commercial injection wells and 1,960 permitted but not drilled injection/disposal wells in Texas
Milton Rister, Executive Director, Texas Railroad Commission
- Much of the information being requested by the researchers is considered proprietary information when it should not necessarily be categorized that way
- When the RRC is given data it must be made public data; if the data is shared with researchers it can be kept proprietary
- King noted that the legislature has the responsibility of giving executive agencies enough authority and resources to carry out their mission; it is the agency’s responsibility to carry out that mission at the micro level; does the RRC have the authority to deal with the industry if it is determined earthquakes are being caused by oil and gas activity
- The issue would have to make it all the way up to the commissioners and they would have to act in the name of public safety if wells were to be shut down quickly
- King asked if the legislature needs to give the agency any other authority to be able to act in this regard
- Probably not
Scott Anderson, Environmental Defense Fund
- This is an area where there is much uncertainty and a great degree of variability
- There is no doubt that injection operations can and do cause earthquakes, that does not mean that all injection operations will cause earthquakes
- At this point, many people assume that oil and gas activity is causing the seismic activity in the Azle area but it is yet to be determined
- Some states have taken action on this but Texas should not just copy another state’s solution
- Four recommendations:
- RRC should put clauses into their contracts that give authority to perform well tests and to collect more information
- Ensure the RRC has the ability to order wells be shut down very quickly in times of emergency; currently they would require a hearing and a lot of time
- Daily pressure monitoring instead of monthly averages
- Requiring wells to be constructed in a way that they include shut-off devices
- Crownover asked if daily pressure monitoring should be implemented on all disposal wells
- None of the recommendations are intended to be implemented statewide but rather as needed
Cyrus Reed, Sierra Club
- Oklahoma has the highest rate of earthquakes in the US; not necessarily all from oil and gas activity but a high percentage is believed to be
- Some states have developed regulations and emergency provisions regarding oil and gas activity causing seismic activity
- Ohio has the most specific regulations on this issue; should be studied closely
- Crownover noted the oil and gas industry has generally been way ahead of the legislature in developing safety mechanisms and new innovations; the industry is not in a static place where there is not progress
- Texas should look at installing more portable seismometers around disposal well sites
- Legislature could look at giving more statutory authority to the RRC to intervene in certain situations
- It can be hard for them do so now when an operator is operating under the conditions of their permit
Jimmy Carlile, Fasken Oil & Ranch
- Company has been around for 100 years
- Industry wants to be part of the solution
- Safety if the first initiative but protecting the environment is the second
- Must dispose of 9,000 barrels of water per day even with recycling operations so there will always be some portion of disposal through injection wells
- Need regulation based on science and fact and not politics
Judy Raab, Texas Oil & Gas Association, Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association, Permian Basin Petroleum Association, Texas Alliance of Energy Producers
- Fully supportive of RRC and SMU’s efforts to determine the cause of the increased seismic activity
- Safe and responsible operation is priority number one in the oil and gas industry
- Additional research should zero in on the cause and put forth an action plan to reduce seismic activity
- Many industry members are actively helping to find a solution
Tricia Davis, Texas Royalty Council
- Over 500,000 people in Texas own royalties
- While significant seismic activity is rare in Texas, low magnitude activity is not that uncommon
- Only a small number of disposal wells are located near seismic activity in the state
- Supports the decision by the RRC to hire a seismologist
- Believes future regulation of the oil and gas industry should be supported by credible science and data
James Newman, Association of Energy Service Companies
- When applying for a permit to the RRC an applicant must submit the amount of fluid being pumped over a day and the maximum pressure being pumped
- From a practical perspective, the RRC probably has enough authority to regulate the seismic issue as they would need to
- Crownover noted the oil and gas industry only uses 1-2% of the state’s water while agriculture uses around 60%