New OCC Limits Put on Arbuckle Disposal Wells

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The Oklahoma Corporation Commission came out with new limits on Arbuckle disposal wells on Friday in another move to limit the rate of earthquakes linked to the wells and lower future risks.

“The data from the Oklahoma Geological Survey shows the earthquake rate has been dropping since we issued various directives reducing the then-current volume within the Area of Interest,” said Tim Baker, Director of the Oil and Gas  Conservation Division at the OCC. “The continued drop in earthquakes, as well as new data and input from the Oklahoma Geological Survey have caused a change in our orientation from focusing on current disposal volumes within the AOI to looking ahead to try and ensure there isn’t a sudden, surprise jump in those disposal volumes.”

The new directive affects Arbuckle disposal wells already under restrictions but also those high volume wells that previously were not under a reduction directive because there had been no seismicity in their area. The directive applies to 654 Arbuckle disposal wells and will not reduce current volumes but instead keep future volume increases in check.

“Other wells are already operating under a reduction directive with volumes that are lower than even those allowed. We don’t want to see them jump drastically in one day, even if they are within their directive limits. So they will have a cap to limit how much they can increase volume at once.”

Baker attributed the decision to the data accumulated in the past year, indicating the amount and quality is far ahead of where the OCC was one year ago.

“We can make decisions on a much timelier basis. Given that, operators need to be aware that we will take action if that data indicates further volume reductions should be put in place. The earthquake rate is headed in the right direction, but this remains our most critical issue.”