Corporation Commission Starts Probe of Edmond Earthquake Surge

The surge of earthquakes in the Edmond area on Wednesday and Thursday, including a 4.2 magnitude quake that caused a power outage is being investigated by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

The strongest of the quakes caused some minor damage and resulted in a power outage affecting two electrical substations.  It was felt in Oklahoma City and Shawnee.

The Corporation Commission issued a Thursday morning statement indicating the probe was focused on oil and gas wastewater disposal wells that injection into the Arbuckle formation, the state’s deepest formation.

“The earthquakes have been clustered close together in an area where there is a known fault,” said spokesman Matt Skinner in the statement. “There are no Arbuckle disposal wells at or very close to the location.”

He also indicated there have been no changes to the restrictions put on disposal wells in the area last year.

The commission said an Oil and Gas Division Field inspector checked the wells within an approximately 10-mile radius of the earthquake activity. Recent data from the operations of the wells is being reviewed by the Commission.

Some wells have been closed in the region in the past after the Corporation Commission adopted volume reductions in the Arbuckle disposal operations.