Shake, rattle, and roll. Even gas wells, such as this experimental platform in Colorado in the 1980s, can trigger quakes, a new report finds.
Credit: U.S. Department of Energy
Posted on 06/16/2012 6:37:10 PM PDT by neverdem
Pumping all manner of fluids into deep rock formations has triggered earthquakes strong enough to cause a bit of damage while seriously rattling the local populace, a committee of the National Research Council (NRC) concluded in a report released today.
Fracking for natural gas and oil, formally known as hydraulic fracturing, has been responsible for only one or two triggering episodes, the committee found. But hundreds of felt quakes in 13 states have been produced by the deep injection of wastewater from fracking and other industrial activities, as well as the creation of geothermal energy sites, the enhanced recovery of oil and gas, and even the simple extraction of oil and gas. And capturing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from power plants and pumping it into the ground "may have potential for inducing larger seismic events," the committee found, because much larger volumes would be involved.
The committee also concluded that drillers could better anticipate and ameliorate the seismic hazards of fluid injection. The basic science is well understood, it noted, but forecasting the hazard from induced earthquakes and taking steps to minimize the risk have been frustrated by the dearth of detailed geologic and geophysical observations of specific sites.
Assessments of the risk of induced seismicity "should be undertaken before operations begin in areas with a known history of felt seismicity," the committee wrote. Such pre-injection studies have generally not been done in the past, although some new state regulations are moving in that direction. And of course, "Further research is required."
I know the Texan guy who invented fracking. Oil and natural gas has been good to him.
let me get this straight, pumping millions of barrels out of the ground without replacement does NOT cause earthquakes, but replacing fluid with fluid does...
Back when I was in the corporate world we had “rumble strips” in front of corporate HQ to slow traffic.
Yep, you guessed it. We could feel every car & truck that passed the front of the building.
The company makes fiber optics. The optical fiber drawing tower was on a humongous isolation damper to remove vibrations from highway traffic.
There are earthquakes and there are “earthquakes” of the environmental activist type.
He may have invented a method of fracturing, but was not the first.
That title belongs to some guy back in the 1800s who dropped dynamite down a hole.
Isn't fracking the reason there are so many earthquakes in and around Japan?
Probably the modern method used. Thanks for the info.
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Our home uses geothermal heating and cooling. Maybe Washington DC will fall into the Potomac River if I crank the air conditioning down low enough.
Do you think I’m close enough to them to cause a large enough ‘quake?
Again, I’m sorry about the ozone layer.
Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR) wells sparsely populated in the US do not manifest such seismic trends. The conclusions are speculation at best.
It’s not just fracking. It’s all the fat people walking around, putting pressure on the earth. This is why we need to ban soda.
Sincerely,
Michael Bloomberg
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