SBAS Analysis of Induced Ground Surface Deformation from Wastewater Injection in East Central Oklahoma, USA

Abstract

The state of Oklahoma has experienced a dramatic increase in the amount of measurable seismic activities over the last decade. The needs of a petroleum-driven world have led to increased production utilizing various technologies to reach energy reserves locked in tight formations and stimulate end-of-life wells, creating significant amounts of undesirable wastewater ultimately injected underground for disposal. Using Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) data, we performed a differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) technique referred to as the Small BAseline Subset (SBAS)-based analysis over east central Oklahoma to identify ground surface deformation with respect to the location of wastewater injection wells for the period of December 2006 to January 2011. Our results show broad spatial correlation between SBAS-derived deformation and the locations of injection wells. We also observed significant uplift over Cushing, Oklahoma, the largest above ground crude oil storage facility in the world, and a key hub of the Keystone Pipeline. This finding has significant implications for the oil and gas industry due to its close proximity to the zones of increased seismicity attributed to wastewater injection. Results southeast of Drumright, Oklahoma represent an excellent example of the potential of InSAR, identifying a fault bordered by an area of subduction to the west and uplift to the east. This differentiated movement along the fault may help explain the lack of any seismic activity in this area, despite the large number of wells and high volume of fluid injected.

Radar Interferometry as a Comprehensive Tool for Monitoring the Fault Activity in the Vicinity of Underground Gas Storage Facilities

“…Qiao et al [15] show a strong correlation between changes in terrain height and gas pressure in the UGS. Loesch and Vasit [16] deal with the impact of oil and gas extraction and the simultaneous injection of wastewater on the seismicity of the area. They show, inter alia, that areas showing vertical movements can be bounded by tectonic faults.…”

Ground Deformation Revealed by Sentinel-1 MSBAS-InSAR Time-Series over Karamay Oilfield, China

“…Due to these advantages and characteristics, InSAR technology has been successfully applied to the monitoring of volcanic motion [8,9], seismic activity [10,11], landslides [12,13], glacial drift [14,15], regional ground sink [16,17], and anthropogenic activity like tunneling or infrastructure monitoring [18][19][20]. In addition, InSAR technology has also been successfully used to monitor ground deformation over oil and geothermal fields, such as the Helliishdi geothermal field [21], the West Texas oilfield [22], and the Cushing oilfield in East Central Oklahoma [23].…”

“…Therefore, monitoring recent surface deformations over the Karamay oilfield area is of great significance for guiding the continued exploitation for oil and gas. Liquid injection may cause local stress changes, which can lead to earthquakes [21,23,27]. Are the low-magnitude earthquakes within and around the oilfield related to oil and gas exploration in this area?…”

Earthquake Source Mechanisms and Stress Field Variations Associated With Wastewater‐Induced Seismicity in Southern Kansas, USA

“…subsidence was reported to coincide with a zone of densely located injection wells in Oklahoma (Loesch & Sagan, 2018). However, more localized studies in parts of Texas and Oklahoma have shown uplift in areas of injection (Barba-Sevilla et al, 2018;Shirzaei et al, 2016;Zheng et al, 2019).…”