Oklahoma oil and gas authorities are finalizing legal action against an oil company in the state. The “financially strapped” Oklahoma energy company has refused to abandon disposal wells suspected of contributing to earthquakes, reports StateImpact. The company, Sandridge Energy, has been ignoring directives from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to shut down six of its disposal wells. The wells are located along a fault line in north-central Oklahoma.
State authorities are preparing to file an order that, if approved, would halt operation of the wells. The weak oil economy is likely driving the company’s decision to defy the state.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the company is “reluctant to shut down the wells because it needs every bit of revenue it can generate at this point. . . Even if Sandridge continues to pump all the oil and gas it can, the company could run out of cash in 2016.” In Oklahoma, some underground formations produce 10 barrels of earthquake-causing saltwater for every barrel of oil.
