Earthquakes add new challenges to oil production in Texas

Costs for oil producers will increase due to earthquakes in West Texas. Earlier, oil companies have already felt the effects of inflation and shortage of equipment.

The growing number of earthquakes in the Oklahoma and Texas oil fields is associated with wastewater that forms during oil and gas production and is often pumped back underground. The regulatory authorities of these states have set a limit on the amount of water that can be pumped back, especially into deep wells.

The magnitude of the earthquake that occurred in mid-November was 5.4. In case of another similar natural phenomenon in Texas with a magnitude of 4.5 or more, all deep wells in this area will be closed for 24 months.

According to Laura Capper, a chief executive of CAP Resources, a water management and risk mitigation consulting firm, there remains an extremely high probability of another powerful earthquake at this point.

She also noted that a complete shutdown of deep wells in the zone could cause significant logistical difficulties to maintain oil and gas production from high-producing fields in New Mexico and West Texas.