American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2015 - 129

opportunities to members about the legal
framework, lesser prairie chicken
regulations, and their risk management
options, Cross states. The association also
has formed an ad hoc group to explore
the industry's conservation strategies. This
will be one of the technical session topics
during KIOGA's annual meeting.

Seismic Activity
In late April, reports by the Oklahoma
Geological Survey, Southern Methodist
University, and the U.S. Geological Survey
concluded there could be a link between
injecting wastewater from oil and gas operations and seismic activity in Oklahoma
and Texas, a KIOGA communication
notes.
"During our midyear meeting (in
April), we learned of another study suggesting that seismic activity in the MidContinent may be related to large quakes
along plate boundaries around the world,
such as those in Sumatra in 2004 and
Japan in 2011," Cross mentions (see
"KIOGA Seeks Answers To Earthquakes,"
AOGR, May 2015). "The study suggests
that seismic clustering events around the
world appear not to be related to shallow
earth events, but probably are related to
plate boundary movements where post-

seismic relaxations and strain-transfer
mechanisms are transferred in the deep
ductile layers of the earth."
In the end, Cross says KIOGA believes
more research is needed to gain a better
understanding of what is causing seismic
activity in Kansas and elsewhere.
He notes the Kansas Geological Survey
has installed several more seismic monitoring stations throughout south-central
Kansas. The monitors have been recording
seismic activity not previously scrutinized.
"It's possible the seismic activity being
recorded may have always been there,
but the newly installed, highly sensitive
seismic monitoring stations are just now
picking it up," Cross suggests. "We do
not know if this limited historical dataset
is statistically representative in geological
terms. The uptick in seismic activity in
the last few years may not be unprecedented, but what is unprecedented is our
ability to measure it.
"Like many Kansas citizens, we, too,
are concerned by these events and are
proactively trying to gain a better understanding as to why they are occurring,"
he adds.
KIOGA supports increased monitoring
and geophysical research to provide assurance to landowners and the public

that an improved understanding of this
subject is available to all, he says.
Cross notes the KCC has started to
address seismic activity by issuing an
order in March that requires injection
well operators to reduce the volumes of
saltwater injected into the Arbuckle formation in certain areas of Harper and
Sumner counties. The order sets limits
for injection wells located within five
areas identified by the KGS, based on
seismic activity from January 2014 through
February 2015.
The order does not identify the cause
of the seismic activity, Cross says, but is
a regulatory protocol established by the
Induced Seismicity Task Force. "There
are more than 4,300 Arbuckle injection
wells statewide, and the formation has
been utilized for a long time for both
production and disposal in different parts
of Kansas," he observes. "The impacted
wells represent only a small fraction of
the total active Arbuckle injection wells.
Arbuckle injection occurs in many areas
throughout Kansas without any recorded
seismic activity."
Production Trends
KIOGA Chairman Tim Scheck, owner
of Scheck Oil Operating Inc. in Russell,

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Member KIOGA-IPAA

JULY 2015 129

American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2015

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