Current:Home > MarketsMillions Now at Risk From Oil and Gas-Related Earthquakes, Scientists Say-InfoLens
Millions Now at Risk From Oil and Gas-Related Earthquakes, Scientists Say
View Date:2024-12-23 17:12:29
A new earthquake hazard map for the central and eastern United States shows about 3.5 million people, primarily in Oklahoma and southern Kansas, are at high risk of experiencing a damaging man-made earthquake from oil and gas-related activities this year.
Researchers at the United States Geological Survey have produced a one-year seismic outlook that takes into account both natural and human-caused earthquakes, mainly those generated by the underground disposal of oil and gas wastewater and, to a lesser extent, by fracking itself.
In recent years, there has been a surge in quakes linked to oil and gas activity, including a massive 5.8 event last September in Pawnee, Okla. Some have caused damage to homes, buildings and roads across Oklahoma and elsewhere, sparking public concern and prompting regulators to begin restricting local energy company activities.
Despite some pockets of the country remaining on high alert for damaging shaking, the scientists did find the region’s overall risk went down compared to last year, which was the first year of the seismic report. The 2016 forecast had indicated up to 7 million people had a chance of facing damage from a moderate man-made earthquake. The 2017 forecast was lower because the total number of earthquakes were lower in the study area in 2016 compared with 2015.
The scientists said the drop in earthquakes last year suggests man-made earthquakes can be controlled by reducing the fracking and/or wastewater disposal activity.
According to Mark Petersen, one of the leading USGS scientists involved in the project, the decrease was largely due to state regulatory actions starting in 2014 to restrict waste disposal and energy extraction in known potential earthquake zones. He also said it could have stemmed from companies reducing oil production and waste generation because of last year’s low oil prices.
“These reductions in earthquake rates indicate that this type of seismicity is manageable or controllable,” Petersen said a press conference announcing the 2017 forecast.
The researchers used the record of historical earthquakes (including all the ones in 2016), as well as studies and modeling in developing their 2017 hazard map. It showed that a large section of central and northern Oklahoma, as well as southern Kansas, faces a greater than 1 percent chance of experiencing a moderate earthquake this year. Moreover, a sliver of central Oklahoma faces an at least 10 percent chance. This especially high-risk area was the origin of the state’s largest-ever earthquake, the one that struck near Pawnee.
Overall the number of earthquakes in Oklahoma declined last year. However, the state was shaken by a record number of strong events in 2016. State regulators have increasingly put in place regulations to prevent man-made earthquakes, including rules announced in December on how drillers should respond to possible fracking-linked events.
According to a joint statement from state officials at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and the Oklahoma Geological Survey, the USGS 2017 forecast “serves to confirm the validity of the work done in Oklahoma to reduce earthquake risk, as well as the need for the effort to continue.”
The new forecast also identified high risk in two other areas where oil and gas wastewater disposal takes place: a small area in northern Kansas, as well as an area called Raton Basin along the Colorado-New Mexico border, which experienced two earthquakes above magnitude 4.0 last year.
The researchers identified a new area of risk of man-made quakes, in western Texas, compared to last year. Meanwhile, the risk of damaging events in northern Texas largely disappeared compared to 2016. The USGS scientists said at the recent press conference that they did not know why this was the case and that Texas officials are studying the issue.
The threat of man-made earthquakes tied to oil and gas activities extends to states excluded from the forecast. For example, researchers have identified likely man-made earthquakes in multiple areas of oil and gas development in California. And state officials in Pennsylvania last month announced a series of four small earthquakes observed in April 2016 that they say was linked to a nearby fracking pad.
veryGood! (41)
Related
- Lee Zeldin, Trump’s EPA Pick, Brings a Moderate Face to a Radical Game Plan
- Colts QB Anthony Richardson will start but as many as three starting linemen could be out
- Ukraine hosts a defense industry forum seeking to ramp up weapons production for the war
- An Ecuadorian migrant was killed in Mexico in a crash of a van operated by the immigration agency
- Jessica Simpson's Husband Eric Johnson Steps Out Ringless Amid Split Speculation
- Student loan payments resume October 1 even if the government shuts down. Here's what to know.
- An ex-investigative journalist is sentenced to 6 years in a child sexual abuse materials case
- What Top 25 upsets are coming this weekend? Bold predictions for Week 5 in college football
- Chiefs block last-second field goal to save unbeaten record, beat Broncos
- Anti-abortion groups are at odds on strategies ahead of Ohio vote. It could be a preview for 2024
Ranking
- Britney Spears Reunites With Son Jayden Federline After His Move to Hawaii
- 90 Day Fiancé’s Ed and Liz Reveal the Lessons They've Learned After 11-Plus Break Ups
- Burglar recalls Bling Ring's first hit at Paris Hilton's home in exclusive 'Ringleader' clip
- Jon Rahm responds to Brooks Koepka's accusation that he acted 'like a child' at the Ryder Cup
- Wisconsin agency issues first round of permits for Enbridge Line 5 reroute around reservation
- Georgia judge declines to freeze law to discipline prosecutors, suggesting she will reject challenge
- College football Week 5: The 7 best matchups to watch this weekend
- Season’s 1st snow expected in central Sierra Nevada, including Yosemite National Park
Recommendation
-
Powerball winning numbers for Nov. 9 drawing: Jackpot rises to $92 million
-
MVP candidates Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuña Jr. top MLB jersey sales list
-
UAW strike to expand with calls for additional 7,000 Ford, GM workers to walk off the job
-
Northern Arizona University plans to launch a medical school amid a statewide doctor shortage
-
Detroit-area police win appeal over liability in death of woman in custody
-
North Macedonia national park’s rising bear population poses a threat to residents
-
Travis Barker Shares He Had Trigeminal Neuralgia Episode
-
Cyprus hails Moody’s two-notch credit rating upgrade bringing the country into investment grade