Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Oklahoma
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 04-25-2008, 05:03 PM
 
34,254 posts, read 20,537,546 times
Reputation: 36245

Advertisements

I have no idea. But I think its an important enough subject to ALL of us to allow discussion. I raised this question awhile back and the thread died.

So here is my second attempt to allow folks to ask questions and maybe those with good academic research skills and those with oil well drilling knowledge can add to this discussion.

So as to not hijack the thread on Shawnee real estate, I thought I would start this thread.

Is Oklahoma ground water being contaminated by salt water? If so, is it natural geological processes, or can some of it be due to oil well drilling activity?

A quick search of Oklahoma Supreme Courts Networks show there have been lawsuits filed against oil well drilling companies due to surface water, stock pond and stream contamination. But there is also at least one court case involving contamination to subsurface water sources.

A very quick search revealed the following cases in Oklahoma:

^¶7 Plaintiff testified concerning the physical condition of the surface estate, and particularly establishing the presence of open, unplugged well bores, abandoned oil field equipment, and evidence of erosion-causing surface spills of salt brine and mineral products. Plaintiff testified that ****** had been observed pumping salt brine into one or more open well bores without a valid permit from the Corporation Commission, and Plaintiff attributed much of the damage to his surface estate and subsurface aquifers directly to pollution from mineral operations by ***** ******, Defendants' immediate predecessor in interest.
^OSCN Found Document:MEINDERS v. JOHNSON

And,

*1 S. P. ***** recovered judgment against the Devonian Oil Company and Echo Oil Company for damages to cattle alleged to have been caused by drinking water polluted and contaminated by oil, salt water, and other deleterious substances, negligently and wrongfully allowed to escape from defendant's oil mining operations, and run over the surface of the land, and into certain draws and creeks which were the water supply for the cattle running in his pasture in Osage county,
*OSCN Found DocumentEVONIAN OIL CO. v. SMITH

**A lawsuit filed as early as 1957 from surface contamination due to negligence resulting in damage to Pecan crops and livestock.
**OSCN Found Document:SUPERIOR OIL CO. v. GRIFFIN

***Surface stock ponds contaminated by spillage from oil well activity.
***OSCN Found Document:GULF OIL CORPORATION v. McCOY

For further reading, the following is a partial list of links:

Electronic Technology Being Used to Map Salt Water Contamination in Developing Areas of Central Oklahoma (broken link)


Oklahoma Water Resources Board: Water Well Drilling & Pump Installation


Oklahoma Corporation Commission-Home
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-25-2008, 05:25 PM
 
34,254 posts, read 20,537,546 times
Reputation: 36245
Just curious, how many wells are there in Oklahoma?

Can someone decipher this table?

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff275/redbird4848/OKoil-gaswelldrillingtable2004.jpg (broken link)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-25-2008, 05:32 PM
 
34,254 posts, read 20,537,546 times
Reputation: 36245
Default Oklahoma Quick Facts

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff275/redbird4848/OKStateEnergyProfile.jpg (broken link)



*Energy Information Administration - State Energy Profiles - State energy data, information, and maps
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-25-2008, 09:50 PM
 
34,254 posts, read 20,537,546 times
Reputation: 36245
I have no idea what Redbird is talking about, so here's a picture of a bunny with 10 cookies on his head.

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff275/redbird4848/bunnywithcookiesforRB.jpg (broken link)

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff275/redbird4848/talkingtomyself.jpg (broken link)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-25-2008, 10:03 PM
 
Location: OK
2,825 posts, read 7,545,492 times
Reputation: 2056
Talk about thread drift ...............
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2008, 01:58 AM
 
Location: Norman
330 posts, read 970,371 times
Reputation: 290
Quote:
Originally Posted by redbird4848 View Post
Just curious, how many wells are there in Oklahoma?

Can someone decipher this table?

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff275/redbird4848/OKoil-gaswelldrillingtable2004.jpg (broken link)
Well, going by the table just look at the bottom of it where it says total. Based on that, it reads 37,733 oil wells and 40,620 gas wells. I have no idea it that's too many or not. From the sound of it, it sounds like a lot.

As for the contamination I will say this, anytime man tampers with the earth, the earth tends to bite back at some point in time. I wouldn't doubt there's some contamination somewhere - that's just what happens when people poke holes in the earth. I'll use a couple of buzz words to describe the situation - "side effects" or "unintended consequences". How about this one "undocumented perceptions".
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2008, 06:21 AM
 
Location: Fort Worth/Dallas
11,887 posts, read 36,922,373 times
Reputation: 5663
Quote:
Originally Posted by redbird4848 View Post
I have no idea what Redbird is talking about, so here's a picture of a bunny with 10 cookies on his head.

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff275/redbird4848/bunnywithcookiesforRB.jpg (broken link)

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff275/redbird4848/talkingtomyself.jpg (broken link)
Can't answer your questions but you're hilarious..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2008, 07:05 AM
 
34,254 posts, read 20,537,546 times
Reputation: 36245
The freshwater aquifer IS being contaminated by salt water disposal wells. And not just from oil tank spills.

*[i]"...The *SWD well has contaminated the surrounding shallow ground water and the unnamed tributary stream lying to the immediate west of the SWD well."

And before anyone states this may be from the fact that Okalahoma was once part of an inland sea....

*"Salt-bearing sequences of Permian age are noticeably absent from surface and near-surface
horizons in this area of Oklahoma
(12)."

Basically, this case is an exploratory well dug in 1948, abandoned and turned into a salt water disposal well.

*"A resultant downhole pressure in excess of 1400 psig will be
produced at the *<company name deleted> well after 30 years due to
salt water injection at the disposal well. This pressure
would be sufficient to allow DeVore SWD brines to
migrate up the DeVore-Wolfe wellbore and enter the
freshwater aquifer
near MW-1
".

*http://digital.library.okstate.edu/o...v66/p53_61.pdf

A few pics from Seminole County, OK. A different site from the one above which was in Noble County, OK.

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff275/redbird4848/SeminoleCooilandsaltwater1releas-1.jpg (broken link)

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff275/redbird4848/SeminoleCountyoilandsaltwater1-1rel.jpg (broken link)

And finally, lawsuits get the attention of large companies.

**"Complaints filed in 1995 and 1997 allege that Koch unlawfully allowed some 3 million gallons of crude oil and related products to leak from its pipelines into ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, or onto adjacent shorelines, from 1990 to 1997. Most of the spills were caused by corrosion of pipelines in rural areas. The governments allege that Koch could have prevented the corrosion by proper operation and maintenance."

**#019: KOCH INDUSTRIES TO PAY RECORD FINE FOR OIL SPILLS IN SIX STATES
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2008, 07:31 AM
 
Location: Somewhere! :)
1,989 posts, read 4,403,086 times
Reputation: 373
I haven't said anything because I'm not versed on the subject.
(Like that's ever stopped me before?)

Judging by the way my luck runs, now that I'm drinking this water,
you can bet it's contaminated.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2008, 08:08 AM
 
34,254 posts, read 20,537,546 times
Reputation: 36245
Many oil wells in Oklahoma are classified as "marginal oil producing" wells, which means they are owned/operated by individuals, not large corporations. And these wells can produce as little as 0-3 barrels a day. There are approximately 46,000 marginal oil wells in Oklahoma.

Can these operators keep up the equipment to prevent leaks and spills into the ecosystem?

And NO, I am not a tree-hugger, nor am I an environmentalist. I am simply a resident who asks questions about potential harm to our water supply.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Oklahoma
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top