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Regulator halts fracking operations in northeastern B.C. while investigating earthquakes

Regulator halts fracking operations in northeastern B.C. while investigating earthquakes

The B.C. Oil and Gas Commission has shut down oilfield fracking operations for at least 30 days in northeastern British Columbia while it investigates earthquakes that occurred there on Nov. 29.

The regulator says the seismic events, which measured between 3.4 and 4.5 magnitude, took place near hydraulic fracturing operations being conducted about 20 kilometres southeast of Fort St. John by Calgary-based Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. The practice is also known as fracking.

It says the company immediately suspended work on Nov. 29 and it won’t be allowed to resume without the written consent of the commission. Six companies in or close to the area have also suspended fracking operations. 

The area closed off is 11.6 kilometres by 6.4 kilometres in size, says the regulator.

According to Natural Resources Canada, the 4.5 magnitude earthquake was felt in Fort St. John, Taylor, Chetwynd and Dawson Creek but did no damage. It was followed by two smaller aftershocks.

Fracking involves injecting large amounts of water, sand and chemicals into a well to break up tight rock underground and allow trapped oil and gas to flow.

The technology, along with injecting oilfield liquids into disposal wells, have been linked by the B.C. commission to previous incidents of “induced seismicity,” although it notes on its website none of the events in B.C. have resulted in hazards to safety or the environment or property damage.

Earthquakes usually small, shallow

Honn Kao, a seismologist with Natural Resources Canada, told CBC’s Daybreak North that most fracking operations don’t produce induced earthquakes, and when they do, they’re relatively small and shallow.

The earthquake last week came close to matching the world’s largest fracking-induced earthquake which occurred a little further north in 2015 and registered magnitude 4.6.

The Fort St. John and District Chamber of Commerce says the shutdown is an attack on the already suffering oil and gas industry.

“We’ve gone through three bad years,” said Ramona McDonald, the chamber’s president.

“We do not need to go through another three years or another month even of shutdowns, because people are finally just starting to get back to work.”

Shutdown hurting business owners

McDonald, who runs a business that serves the oil and gas industry, says the shutdown could cost her upwards of $100,000 in lost contracts.

She says the shutdown is unnecessary and that there’s already scientific evidence backing the link between fracking and earthquakes. 

“This has been studied for a number of years … and has been going around and around in circles,” she said.

Natural Resources Canada says there’s still not complete certainty the earthquake was caused by fracking, although the two events seem strongly correlated.

“We need to do some more serious investigation to determine the physical mechanism that actually links these two phenomena together,” said Kao, the seismologist.

Injecting oilfield liquids can change the stress field in a location and dissipate in the vicinity, which is what investigators are looking at right now, Kao said. 

And although the earthquakes have so far been small, they suggest a greater risk of larger seismic activity, he said.

“The seismic risk associated with the development of shale gas and oil should not be overlooked.”

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-halts-northeast-fracking-operations-while-it-investigates-earthquakes-1.4937438

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Alaskans rattled by more than 2,100 aftershocks since last week’s earthquake

Alaskans rattled by more than 2,100 aftershocks since last week’s earthquake

Life was beginning to return to normal Monday in Alaska after a powerful earthquake near Anchorage on Friday, but people nervous about aftershocks were still grappling with damage that closed public buildings and schools, clogged roads and knocked homes off foundations.

Some residents went back to work. But state transportation officials again urged people who live north and south of Anchorage to take the day off or work from home to reduce traffic.

Rockfalls were still occurring along cliff-lined Seward Highway, while major repairs were underway on hard-hit Glenn Highway, the main road leading north of the city, Department of Transportation spokeswoman Meadow Bailey said.

“We don’t want the commute to be frustrating because people will experience delays,” she said.

Residents still jittery from the 7.0 quake on Friday have been rattled even further by more than 2,100 aftershocks. A dozen have had magnitudes of 4.5 or greater.

“Anything that moves, you’re on your last nerve,” said Anchorage resident Lyn Matthews, whose home sustained substantial structural damage, including a sunken foundation.

Matthews, who was back at work at a chiropractor’s office, and her husband have no earthquake insurance.

“I’m scared to death,” she said.

The earthquake struck 11 kilometres north of Anchorage, swaying buildings, disrupting power and causing heavy damage to Glenn Highway.

There were no reports of deaths, serious injuries or widespread catastrophic damage in the state with strict building codes implemented after a 1964 earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2 — the second most powerful of any quake ever recorded.

No outbreaks of disease or other major health problems have been reported.

Still, federal officials declared a public health emergency on Monday, saying the action will ensure that Medicaid funds continue to be issued despite the temporary closure of offices. Mental health aid is also available for people stressed by the disaster.

“Remember, whatever you’re feeling right now is valid,” Anchorage Health and Human Services director Natasha Pineda said at a weekend briefing.

Earthquake forecasts cited a 4 per cent chance of another earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 or greater in the first week after the first quake.

“The chance is very small, but it’s not impossible,” U.S. Geological Survey Geophysicist Paul Caruso said.

The federal courthouse in Anchorage was among structures that remained closed. Officials said the U.S. District Court and the attached federal building in Anchorage will be closed at least through Thursday following a preliminary evaluation by the General Services Administration.

GSA spokesman Chad Hutson said boilers in the federal building were leaking, leaving it without heat.

The nearby Historic Federal Building, where the bankruptcy court is located, also remained closed. Officials said late Monday afternoon a detailed evaluation of the building found no structural deficiencies and the building is set to reopen Tuesday.

Schools in Anchorage have been closed until Dec. 10, which should also reduce traffic. An elementary school in the Anchorage suburb of Eagle River has been deemed unsafe to occupy, while multiple other campuses in the region are undergoing repairs and cleanup, according to the Anchorage School District.

A middle school in the small town of Houston north of Anchorage likely will remain closed through the year.

The supply chain of food and other goods delivered to the Port of Anchorage from the Lower 48 has not been disrupted.

About 90 per cent of all the goods sold in Alaska are delivered to the Port of Anchorage, where officials have completed a preliminary damage assessment. There were some structural issues with some trestles, but nothing that should impede operations, according to Municipal Manager Bill Falsey.

GSA spokesman Chad Hutson said boilers in the federal building were leaking, leaving it without heat.

The nearby Historic Federal Building, where the bankruptcy court is located, also remained closed. Officials said late Monday afternoon a detailed evaluation of the building found no structural deficiencies and the building is set to reopen Tuesday.

Schools in Anchorage have been closed until Dec. 10, which should also reduce traffic. An elementary school in the Anchorage suburb of Eagle River has been deemed unsafe to occupy, while multiple other campuses in the region are undergoing repairs and cleanup, according to the Anchorage School District.

A middle school in the small town of Houston north of Anchorage likely will remain closed through the year.

The supply chain of food and other goods delivered to the Port of Anchorage from the Lower 48 has not been disrupted.

About 90 per cent of all the goods sold in Alaska are delivered to the Port of Anchorage, where officials have completed a preliminary damage assessment. There were some structural issues with some trestles, but nothing that should impede operations, according to Municipal Manager Bill Falsey.


Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/alaska-earthquake-aftermath-1.4931912

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