Around 4:30 AM, a 5.3-magnitude earthquake shook west Texas, 23 miles W-SW of Mentone. Karen Work, of Carlsbad, NM, contacted us to let us know that she had felt the early morning earthquake. While there have been no reports of damage, this will certainly impact oil and gas operations in the area. The earthquake occurred in the Northern Culberson-Reeves SRA (Seismic Response Area), where a multitude of earthquakes have been reported since 2021, resulting in the TX RRC and disposal operators taking actions to ameliorate seismicity in the area by reducing injection volumes. While deep injection volumes have greatly declined in the region due to restrictions, EnergyMakers Advisory Group along with Mike Hightower who leads the New Mexico Produced Water Research Consortium, has long projected that the area was due for another impactful earthquake, such as the event this morning and that the sheer amount of seismic activity in this area increases the probability of higher magnitude events occurring.
According to the Operator-Led Response Plan (OLRP) and their work with the Texas RRC, such an event will be the driver to eliminate all deep injection in the Northern Culberson Reeves SRA. That, combined with recent restrictions in the Gardendale SRA, means up to 900,000 bbl/d of lost disposal capacity in the Permian, unless the plan is stepped back.
Stay tuned as we look at the short-and-long-term ramifications of this impactful seismic event.
