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EXPLORING ENERGY, November 2015, Page 7 Oklahoma rig count recently increased by two OIL & GAS CORNER WORLD – NATION – STATE • Water Well Drilling • Solar Pumps • Pump System Installation & Repair 56 years of business 580-323-3454 DRILLING & MACHINE CO. farm & residential DriLL nG A.W. POOl Inc. South Hwy. 183 Clinton RENTAL & SALES 1203 S. MAIN ELK CITY www.troyjonesequipment.com 580-225-2500 580-225-2547 $29,500 2005 KOMATSU D31EX-21A, Orops, P.A.T. Blade, U.C. 75%, 3,053 hours 2004 DEERE 310G Ext-Hoe, 18” Bucket, 4 in 1 Front Bucket, Tires 19.5L-24 F, 12-16.5R, 1,231 Hours, 4WD 2007 CAT D6R XL III, Erops, Heat & Air, Sweeps, Screens, Rear Ripper, 24” Pads, U.C. 70%, 7,162 hours $137,500 $29,500 “Oklahoma rig count incread by two.” oipa.com., 17 Nov. 2015. The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in Oklahoma increased by two in a recent week to 85, while the national rig count dropped six to 767, off 60 percent from this time last year and the lowest level since April of 2002, according to Baker-Hughes. Of the other major oil- and natural gas-producing states, Texas lost two to 338, Louisiana was off one to 69, North Dakota lost one to 62, New Mexico gained one rig to 38 and Colorado fell by one to 32. Unchanged were Pennsylvania at 28, Wyoming at 24 and Ohio at 20. The national rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999. Report: Earthquakes linked to less than 1 percent of all U.S. injection wells “Report: Earthquakes linked to less than 1 percent of all U.S. injection wells.” energyindepth.org., 17 Nov. 2015., Katie Brown PhD. Less than one percent of wastewater injection wells across the United States have been poten- tially linked to induced seismicity, according to a new report by Energy In Depth. The report, en- titled “Injection Wells and Earthquakes: Quantifying the Risk,” consults data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and sev- eral peer-reviewed studies to examine the number of injection wells that have been suspected as causing earthquakes, compared against the total number of operating injection wells. The report includes breakout statistics for several states as well, including Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Ohio, Kansas, and Arkansas. Below are the key findings, by the numbers: • Total number of U.S. disposal wells – 40,000 (approx.) • Number of U.S. disposal wells potentially linked to seismicity – 218 • Percentage of U.S. disposal wells potentially linked to seismicity – 0.55% • Percentage of disposal wells operating without seismicity – 99.45% • Total number of Class II injection wells in the United States – 150,000 (approx.) • Percentage of Class II injection wells poten- tially linked to seismicity – 0.15% • Percentage of Class II injection wells operating without seismicity – 99.85% The report helps to quantify the risk of induced seis- micity from underground wastewater disposal, demon- strating that despite prevalent media coverage of each seismic event, the number of wells even potentially linked to earthquakes is comparatively small across the United States. Even in the individual states where most of the at- tention on induced seismicity has been focused, the vast majority of injection wells are operating aseismi- cally. In recent years, scientists, regulators, and industry have come together to implement a number of mea- sures to mitigate the risk of induced seismicity, includ- ing resource and data sharing to empower states to adopt best practices. Many states have also updated their rules and guidelines for injection well permitting, and companies have spent tens of millions of dollars in mitigation procedures – many of which were voluntary – in order to further reduce risks. “Why banning flaring is a bad idea.” energyindepth. org. 5 Nov. 2015., Seth Whitehead. A recent Forbes op-ed by Baker Institute contributor Jim Krane calls for Congress to propose a potentially devastating compromise in an attempt to persuade the Obama administration to support lifting the 40-year-old ban on crude exports: “Congress should allow U.S. producers to export crude oil – as long as they capture and market the as- sociated natural gas they produce, rather than waste it. In other words: Let’s replace the ban on crude exports with a ban on natural gas flaring.” Krane’s misguided lift-one-ban-and-impose-another exchange is premised on the all-too-common miscon- ception that flaring is completely unnecessary and even deliberately wasteful. Krane states in the op-ed: “… flaring is flat-out waste – about $1 billion a year in U.S. natural gas that could have generated electricity, heated homes, or kept chili simmering on the nation’s stove-tops.” Of course, the fundamental problem with this notion is that flaring is a necessary component of oil and natural gas production. Simply put, it an outright ban on flaring would create massive safety concerns for oil and natu- ral gas workers, as well as severely impact U.S. oil and natural gas development. Why banning flaring is a bad idea
