Two energy companies are those directly affected by this week’s Oklahoma Corporation Commission directive to shut down or drastically curtail wastewater well operations near Crescent following a series of recent earthquakes.
They are Stephens Energy Group LLC based in Fort Smith, Arkansas and White Star Petroleum LLC headquartered in Oklahoma City.
Stephens was under a directive to cease operations with one of its wells, the Krittenbrink 1-3 SWD while White Star was informed it had to shut down operations at two wells, the FUXA 25-19N-4W 1SWP and the Adkisson 1-33SWD. While the company is headquartered in Arkansas, it operates natural gas lines in Logan and Garfield counties.
White Star also has to reduce operations of the Cat in the Hat 2-19 SWD well.
All four wells are in a prescribed area that inject into the Arbuckle geological formation. They are also within zero to 3 miles of the location of the earthquakes.
“Researchers are in broad agreement that disposal into the Arbuckle formation in Oklahoma poses the largest potential risk for induced seismicity,” according to the announcement by the OCC.
The Corporation Commission’s Oil and Gas Division also ordered operators of other wells operating within 3 to 10 miles of the location to reduce their volumes by 20 percent. The reduced-volume order applies to 21 other wells which are operated by White Star, Stephens Energy, Kirkpatrick Oil Company, Inc., Longfellow Energy LP, Stephens Production Co. and Dorado E and P Partners LLC.
White Star Petroleum was hardest hit with orders to reduce volumes on 11 wells while curtailing operations on two of its wells.
Stephens Energy had 5 wells affected by the orders including one to cease operations.
Those firms with wells under orders to reduce volumes to avoid injecting too close to the basement rock will also be required to verify the well’s bottom hole plug integrity.