Earthquake Prompts Shut Down of Well Completion Site in Oklahoma

State oil and gas regulators in Oklahoma have ordered the indefinite shutdown hydraulic fracturing operations at a well site after an earthquake struck nearby.

The 3.3 magnitude quake was reported Sunday night near Bridge Creek, about 20 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. There are no reports of damage or injuries.

Roan Resources has ended all hydraulic fracturing operations at its well completion operation in the Bridge Creek area. After the earthquake event Sunday evening, the Oil and Gas Conservation Division of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission directed Roan Resources to stop operations at the well pending further investigation and data review.

“The decision of Roan Resources to stop hydraulic fracturing operations at the company’s well site in the Bridge Creek area is certainly good news, and the company is to be commended for its decision. This action means the Commission’s Oil and Gas Division will be able to direct its full efforts toward developing further, necessary revisions in the requirements operators must follow when there is seismicity around their well completion operation,” Oklahoma Corporation Commission Chairman Dana Murphy said in a media release.

Thousands of earthquakes have been recorded in Oklahoma in recent years, with many linked to the underground injection of wastewater from oil and natural gas production. Scientists have also linked earthquakes in Kansas, Texas and other states to wastewater injection.