Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton today announced his collaboration

with the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) Center for Integrated Seismicity Research

(CISR), an industry-sponsored, multidisciplinary, trans-college research center.

 The mission of CISR is to conduct fundamental and applied research to better understand

both naturally occurring and potentially induced seismicity and the associated risks.

The research is designed to identify the subsurface processes that may influence

 seismicity, quantify and reduce risk to the citizens and infrastructure of Texas,

and inform regulators and operators so that they can improve standards of practice

to mitigate seismicity.

 

Commissioner Sitton issued the following statement on joining the research consortium:

"I take the issue of induced seismicity very seriously. The science is clear that

it is physically possible for injection wells that dispose of fluids deep underground

to cause earthquakes in certain rare cases, given the right set of conditions. Unfortunately,

this often is confused with hydraulic fracturing, which can cause micro earthquakes

that are almost never felt. Since 2014 the Railroad Commission has had in place 

rules that require careful study of injection well applications in areas where seismicity

could be a factor. As a result, we have put strict conditions on several injection

wells and have also asked operators to withdraw applications when we believed there

was a risk that they could cause seismicity.

 

I've been working diligently on this issue since I joined the Commission in 2014,

and after thorough study and visiting with researchers and operators across Texas,

I have determined that we need to begin to look more closely at oil and gas injection

activities in specific areas. One such area is Johnson County. I have seen credible

data and science from operators that lead me to believe that area has elevated risks

of seismicity related to disposal activities, and therefore warrants additional 

investigation. The industry data, combined with new data that will be acquired by

TexNet (the new Texas Seismometer Network) will help the Railroad Commission and

 CISR achieve a more robust understanding than prior studies. For example, earlier

academic reports from an earthquake sequence in Azle could leave the impression 

that seismicity in the entire Dallas and Fort Worth area is caused by oil and gas.

I don't believe that the science we have to date can support that conclusion.

 

The governor's technical advisory committee to TexNet, BEG, CISR and other reliable

scientific groups are working on smart scientific approaches to comprehensively 

evaluate seismicity and the associated risks in our state. I am working with those

groups, and if research points to a causal link between oil and gas and seismicity

in the state, the Railroad Commission will address those situations in an appropriate

way.

 

I want to applaud the Texas Legislature for their leadership on this issue. Because

of them we are doing more than any other state to address induced seismicity. Texans

can rest assured that the Railroad Commission and the State Legislature take this

issue very seriously and are committed to a thorough scientific analysis of what

 can and should be done to the extent oil and gas activity is causing seismicity

 in our state."