Oklahoma oil and natural gas regulators have instructed the operators of 23 wastewater disposal wells to reduce their disposal volumes due to recent earthquakes in Garfield County.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission issued the directive Tuesday in response to earthquake activity around Covington and Douglas, located 65 miles north of Oklahoma City.
The commission says average daily volumes in wells within 10 miles of the earthquake activity are being reduced by 20 percent. The total daily average reduction is 11,226 barrels a day.
In addition, well operators that have reduced well depths to avoid injecting too close to the basement rock will be required to verify the well's integrity.
The commission says researchers believe that disposing of wastewater into certain geologic formations poses a potential risk for induced seismicity.