http://www.edmontonjournal.com/companies+must+report+earthquakes+near+Creek+rules/10827140/story.html
Oil and gas companies must report earthquakes near Fox Creek, new rules say
By Sheila Pratt, Edmonton Journal February 19, 2015
EDMONTON - New rules for oil companies using hydraulic fracturing in the
Fox Creek area should prevent stronger earthquakes, the Alberta Energy
Regulator announced Thursday.
After a cluster of earthquakes possibly associated with “fracking” in
the region, the regulator decided to bring new regulations, said Todd
Shipman, AER manager responsible for seismic monitoring.
“We want the ability to prevent the large events, so we are asking
companies to modify their operations when they hit a level 2.0 on the
Richter scale,” he said.
In January, the Duvernay area 260 kilometres northwest of Edmonton
recorded two significant earthquakes, including a 4.4-magnitude event 33
kilometres west of Fox Creek. That came after a cluster of 18 seismic
events a month earlier.
Some of those earthquakes “appear to be related” to fracking, a process
that involves injecting high-pressure fluids, sand and chemicals
underground to crack open rock layers and release oil and gas, Shipman said.
Companies must now record seismic activity as low as 2.0 on the Richter
scale in an eight-kilometre radius of their wells. At that level, they
must immediately take action to reduce the impact of their operations to
prevent the quake from growing.
At 4.0 magnitude, companies must immediately cease operations until the
regulator approves restarting, says the new order.
The science shows the earthquakes associated with fracking can start
small and be stopped before hitting the level at which people can feel
the shaking, about 4.0 level, Shipman said.
“Lots of small earthquakes are never felt and the key is to manage it so
they do not become a problem,” he said, adding that a similar system is
used in British Columbia.
Companies should be able to respond within hours of hitting a 2.0 level
quake and each company will have to figure out a specific action plan,
he added.
Previously, there was no requirement on companies to report earthquakes
at such a low level to the local AER office. These events will now be
reported publicly on the regulator’s incident reporting website.
The regulator has six seismic monitoring stations in the region. With
the additional data from the companies, the regulator hopes to be able
to figure out why some areas seem more susceptible to earthquakes than
others with fracking.
“We’re trying to understand underlying causes and that means studying
the rock mechanics, locating underlying faults.”
Companies drilling in the area include Chevron Corp., Royal Dutch Shell
and EnCana Corp.
In its release, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, the
energy industry association, said “it is important to address” the
public’s questions about seismic activity associated with oil and gas
development.
“The new seismic monitoring and reporting requirements ensure our
industry operates with the highest regard for public safety,” said Brad
Herald, CAPP vice-president for western Canada.
The order applies only to companies in the Fox Creek area and is not
provincewide.
The Fox Creek quakes posed no danger to the public or environment,
according to the regulator.
_______________________________________________
Sustainablelorgbiofuel mailing list
Sustainablelorgbiofuel@lists.sustainablelists.org
http://lists.eruditium.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel