Oklahoma Reaches Earthquake Settlement
A $2.6 million class action settlement has been reached for damages from Oklahoma earthquakes allegedly linked to wastewater disposal wells. Residents affected since early 2019 may be eligible for compensation from the settlement.
This latest settlement is part of a series of legal actions against energy companies for earthquake-related damages. Previous settlements include an $850,000 agreement with Eagle Road Oil LLC following the state's record-breaking 5.8 magnitude earthquake near Pawnee in 2016. Another class-action suit resulted in a $555,000 settlement with Spess Oil Co., Circle 9 Resources, and Culbreath Oil & Gas Co. Inc. for damages incurred between 2019 and 2024. The companies involved in this $2.6 million settlement are Freedom Energy, Montclair, New Dominion, and H&P. The lawsuit alleged their wastewater disposal wells contributed to seismic events, including a 5.1 magnitude earthquake near Prague, Oklahoma, on February 2, 2024. While the companies deny the allegations, they agreed to the settlement to resolve the claims. The scientific consensus links Oklahoma's dramatic increase in earthquakes to the underground injection of wastewater, a byproduct of oil and gas extraction. Studies have shown that injecting large volumes of this fluid into deep geological formations, particularly the Arbuckle formation, increases pore pressure and can lubricate existing faults, causing them to slip and trigger earthquakes. Oklahoma's seismic activity surged from an average of less than two 3.0+ magnitude earthquakes per year before 2009 to hundreds annually between 2014 and 2017. At its peak, Oklahoma became more seismically active than California. This spike coincided with a significant increase in wastewater disposal from heightened oil and gas production. In response to the earthquake swarms, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC), the state's oil and gas regulator, has issued directives to mitigate the risks. These measures have included shutting down some disposal wells, reducing injection volumes in others, and ordering operators to prove their wells are not drilled into the deepest basement rock. Following these regulatory actions, which at one point impacted over 1,400 disposal wells across a 15,000-square-mile area, the rate of induced earthquakes in Oklahoma has significantly declined. The OCC's Induced Seismicity Department continues to monitor seismic activity and regulate disposal well operations.
