'Whole lotta shakin' goin' on' in the oil patch

摘要

The geoscience of saltwater injection wells will need to tackle the challenge of reducing induced earthquakes. When Jerry Lee Lewis had a "whole lotta shakin' goin' on," as he sang the rock 'n' roll song in 1957, a lot of young people were enjoying it. Fast forward 57 years, and there is a whole lot of shaking going on in the oil patch from earthquakes induced by saltwater injection wells. However, there aren't any people enjoying today's rock rolling. The epicenter of the earthquake activity is focused in Oklahoma at the moment, although Texas is getting its share of tremors in the Fort Worth basin. The anecdotal information on injection wells leading to earthquakes is piling up rapidly. The scientific community is engaged in sorting out what is really causing the earthquakes.