Commission information officer Matt Skinner said that the numbers are preliminary estimates, and the report is the first time the commission has reported drilling saltwater received at Oklahoma injection wells from Arkansas drilling operations.
A boom in natural gas drilling operations in northwest Arkansas, plus closure of several Arkansas disposal sites because of alleged violations of environment rules, has resulted in increased disposal of saltwater in Oklahoma injections wells.
I-Mac Petroleum Services Inc. of Muskogee has applied to the commission for permission to open an injection well in Vian. I-Mac proposes to dispose of up to 40,000 barrels (1,680,000 gallons) of saltwater per day. If approved, the injection well would be the county’s first. The application has met with considerable protest from Vian-area residents.
The commission report says that six operating injection wells in the 14-county southeast district of Oklahoma received 925,566 barrels (38,873,772 gallons) of wastewater from Arkansas.
An additional 227,509 barrels (9,555,378 gallons) of Arkansas water were disposed of in four injection wells in northeast Oklahoma counties during the three-month period.
Arkansas water made up 7.8 percent of the total amount of drilling wastewater disposed of in Oklahoma injection wells during the three-month period.
