Three earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.0 or greater are the impetus of an Oklahoma Corporation Commission investigation into the McClain County tremblors, according to a news report published by The Oklahoman.
The town of Blanchard falls outside the 15,000 square mile area of interest associated with the Arbuckle formation where a total of nine earthquakes have been reported recently. The quakes are located about 30 miles south of Oklahoma City in the old North Dibble Oil Field, according to the U.S. Geological Survey data.
The OCC’s Oil & Gas Division will investigate all oil and gas activities in the area since there are no disposal wells within a 20-mile vicinity.
“We don’t regard this as coincidental or normal,” said Matt Skinner, spokesperson with the OCC.
“What we are doing right now and what we are concentrating on is getting data on all oil and gas activity in the area. Be it production, disposal, completing, any phase in oil and gas activity,” said Skinner. “We need to know who has been doing what and when they have been doing it.”
In March, the OCC rolled out its Regional Earthquake Response Plan in response to the unusually large number of earthquakes occurring within the state. The plan was later expanded to include central Oklahoma.
The OCC intends to reduce the volume of wastewater injected into the Arbuckle formation by 40 percent from 2014 totals, according to The Oklahoman.
