The Texas Railroad Fee (RRC) has been investigating earthquakes that occurred just lately within the Camp Springs space alongside the Fisher/Scurry County line in West Texas, an RRC spokesperson advised Rigzone.
“In efforts to cut back seismicity presumably brought on by underground injection of produced water, a number of operators within the space have transformed deep saltwater disposal wells to shallow saltwater disposal wells throughout the final 12 months,” the spokesperson advised Rigzone late Friday, noting that “disposal wells are used to dispose produced water, which is water that comes out from wells throughout oil and fuel manufacturing”.
“RRC inspectors are out inspecting saltwater disposal wells inside two and a half miles of the cluster of earthquakes this week [week commencing July 22] and the RRC will consider subsequent steps that may be taken to mitigate earthquakes,” the spokesperson added.
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“We’ll proceed to take measures needed to guard the setting and residents within the space,” the RRC spokesperson went on to state.
On July 26, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake occurred at 3.3 km depth, 17 km north northeast of Hermleigh, Texas, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) web site exhibits.
“This occasion is recognized because the potential mainshock of an earthquake sequence,” the positioning states.
On July 23, a 4.9 magnitude earthquake occurred at 3.2 km depth, 17 km north northeast of Hermleigh, Texas, in keeping with the positioning.
The RRC is the state company with major regulatory jurisdiction over the oil and pure fuel business, pipeline transporters, pure fuel and unsafe liquid pipeline business, pure fuel utilities, the LP-gas business, vital pure fuel infrastructure, and coal and uranium floor mining operations, the RRC web site states.
In an announcement posted on its web site earlier this month, the RRC famous that its geologists and engineers will work with environmental consultants from different states “to research an necessary company program that protects underground sources of ingesting water”.
“The RRC has requested the Groundwater Safety Council (GWPC), a revered group of nationwide groundwater consultants, conduct an unbiased peer evaluation of its Class II Underground Injection Management (UIC) program,” that assertion mentioned.
Class II injection wells are used for oil and fuel operations reminiscent of enhanced oil restoration, disposal of produced water, and underground hydrocarbon storage, the RRC highlighted within the assertion, including that the GWPC is comprised of greater than 30 floor water and environmental regulatory companies in states spanning coast to coast
“The GWPC’s peer opinions embrace, however usually are not restricted to, an analysis of the state’s guidelines, allow utility workflows, allow evaluation standards, safety of underground ingesting water, nicely inspection practices, program funding, and information administration,” the RRC mentioned within the assertion.
“The RRC’s UIC program has been counseled by federal regulators lately. The Environmental Safety Company’s annual evaluations have highlighted RRC’s sturdy oversight of injection wells in defending underground sources of ingesting water and our persevering with efforts to mitigate seismicity in Texas,” it added.
Within the assertion, Paul Dubois, RRC Assistant Director of the Oil and Fuel Division, mentioned, “the RRC has had success tales with our UIC program which started in 1982”.
“One instance is the numerous steps we took to assist mitigate earthquakes in West Texas by setting injection limits for produced water disposal. We even leveraged synthetic intelligence for that work. It’s at all times good to have a brand new set of eyes on our mission, and having different states’ consultants evaluation our program will assist additional strengthen our necessary work,” he added.
The Texas UIC peer evaluation might take between six months to a 12 months to finish, in keeping with the RRC assertion.
Final month, in a separate assertion posted on its web site, the RRC famous that its commissioners accepted the company’s Fiscal Yr 2025 Oil and Fuel Monitoring and Enforcement Plan.
“The annual plans outline the RRC’s strategic priorities for monitoring oil and fuel actions and implementing rules throughout the state,” the RRC mentioned within the assertion, including that they “embrace the company’s intensive subject operations actions reminiscent of nicely inspections, orphaned nicely pluggings, and web site remediations”.
“New to this 12 months’s plan is info associated to technical allowing, and RRC monitoring and enforcement actions carried out by the Oil and Fuel Division’s Technical Allowing and Administrative Compliance Items,” the assertion mentioned.
“One instance is the compliance staff established by the division in 2023 to give attention to post-permitting compliance at floor waste administration amenities regulated by the Environmental Permits Part,” it added.
“Additionally, for the primary time, the RRC sought public suggestions this 12 months previous to creating the plan. A few of that enter was used to develop priorities for monitoring and enforcement efforts within the plan, together with offering extra complete flaring information, and evaluating distinction strategies to cut back orphaned wells older than 20 years,” it continued.
In that assertion, Danny Sorrells, RRC Deputy Government Director and Oil and Fuel Director, mentioned, “we proceed to make the most of our workers’s experience and the company’s technological developments to serve Texans and their communities”.
“The brand new monitoring and enforcement plan offers extra info on how we plan to make the most of these key sources for regulation because the Texas oil and fuel business continues to be a significant factor of the state and U.S. economic system,” he added.
To contact the writer, electronic mail andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com
