Texas Earthquakes Prompt Oil Regulator to Inspect Disposal Wells

The Texas oil regulator said it’s investigating after several earthquakes hit the Permian Basin last week.

Extremely salty water that naturally comes out of oil wells is discarded by injecting the slurry back into the ground, a practice that has been known to trigger quakes. The Texas Railroad Commission is inspecting so-called disposal wells within 2 1/2 miles of the cluster of temblors in the Camp Springs area, said Patty Ramon, a spokesperson for the state agency. That region is roughly 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of Midland, the unofficial capital of the oil-rich Permian.

“The RRC will evaluate next steps that can be taken to mitigate earthquakes,” Ramon said. “We’ll continue to take measures necessary to protect the environment and residents in the area.”

Five earthquakes with a magnitude of 4 or greater have hit West Texas since July 23, including a 5.1-magnitude event on Friday, according to the Texas Seismological Network. The frequency of temblors in West Texas declined last year for the first time in at least half a decade after regulators cracked down on the practice of burying toxic wastewater from crude drilling.

Photo: A disposal well inside an earthquake zone in Odessa, Texas.