American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2015 - 111

critically important."

Monitoring Disposal Wells
The RRC continues to assess seismic
events as part of a process to determine
the cause of tremors near commercial
disposal wells northwest of Fort Worth,
RRC seismologist Craig Pearson told
PBPA during the industry issues panel
discussion.
Faults in North Texas have been identified in portions of a base carbonate that
can range from 1,000 to 2,000 feet,
Pearson said. "It's right on top of that
basement that the Ellenberger was deposited, and that is going to be the controlling aspect for the seismic events that
have occurred in North Texas," he said.
The RRC is urging operators not to
inject into the Ellenberger, which is a
sedimentary formation, Pearson said. The
agency crafted rules to address permit
applications for future disposal wells, including a provision that requires applicants
to identify from U.S. Geological Survey
any earthquakes that have occurred within
an approximately 5.6-mile radius (100
square miles) around a site, he said.
Already, the commission has reviewed
40 disposal well permit applications with
earthquakes in the vicinity, and has approved 75 percent of them, Pearson reported. Some are pending approval, he
said, and a few have been withdrawn by
operators after they identified potential
hazards.
The RRC will continue to approve
permits in earthquake areas, if it believes
the disposal wells likely won't have an
impact, he said.
In the Permian Basin, operators have
injected into the San Andres, which is a

brackish formation, Pearson pointed out.
Although the San Andres has been ideal
for disposal, the RRC is detecting overpressurization in the formation, he advised.
HB 2 established the TexNet Seismic
Monitoring Program, funded with $4.5
million to study seismic activity around
the state, said Michael Young, associate
director of the Bureau of Economic Geology, housed at the University of Texas
at Austin.
The initiative will include 38 permanent
and 36 portable seismic monitoring stations, Young told PBPA. Currently, the
U.S. Geological Survey and other entities
operate 16 stations in the state. He said
TexNet would add 22 permanent stations
for a total of 38. Information will be uploaded onto an Internet server for interested
parties to review, Young added.
"In reality, there are 7,500 injection
wells operating in the state of Texas for
disposal," he reviewed. "There could be
small handful causing problems, and we
are trying to avoid those problems so
everybody can go forward with what
they need to do."
New Mexico Update
The New Mexico Oil Conservation
Division already has suspended injections
into the Ellenberger, Director David
Catanach told PBPA during the panel
discussion.
The OCD also is making strides to include industry input and revise rules to
more adequately reflect industry operations
and conditions, he added.
Early this year, Catanach said he
formed an eight-member industry advisory
group to discuss issues of mutual interest.

David Holt (left), who handles governmental affairs for the Permian Basin Petroleum
Association's Austin, Tx., office, is thanked for his service by association Chairman
Danny Campbell, president of Henry Resources in Midland. PBPA presented a service
plaque to Holt, who is retiring, during its annual meeting, Oct. 15 in Midland.

David Catanach, director of the New
Mexico Oil Conservation Division, reviews
a variety of rule changes made and
being contemplated by the division during his address to the Permian Basin
Petroleum Association's annual meeting,
Oct. 15 in Midland.

Members include representatives of PBPA,
the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association,
and the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico.
Catanach said the OCD also had updated the state's financial assurance rules
for temporarily abandoned wells. Changes
allow a blanket bond, depending on the
number of wells in TA status, with bond
amounts ranging from $150,000 to $1
million, which would cover bonding requirements for 25 wells or more.
In mid-October, the OCD was in the
process of rolling out an online geographic
information system module to identify
wells and supply pertinent information
on each, including landowner and spacing
information.
On another topic, Catanach said New
Mexico had updated the state's Energy
Policy and Implementation Plan, largely
thanks to Energy Secretary David Martin.
He said the plan, which had not been
revised since 1991, called for streamlining
oil and gas regulation, gaining additional
access to federal lands, collaborating
more closely with other agencies, and
promoting infrastructure development,
exploring additional energy education,
and researching the nexus between energy
and water.
Next year, the OCD anticipates adopting regulations for acid gas injection,
and revising its horizontal well rules and
the Mancos Gas Pool special rule,
Catanach said.
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American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2015

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