Sunday 9 June 2019

8.0 Earthquake in Loreto Peru Caused by FRACKING Site


A Very Odd Earthquake Indeed


During the same month of this rare earthquake, PetroTal reported that it began drilling operations on May 7th, for a second oil production well in the Brittany field in Block 95, in Loreto, which was producing at least 2,250 barrels of crude oil per day. Keep in mind that the deep drilling operation started on May 7 and can take up to 10 days  … they drilled over 3 km down into the earth. Within 2 weeks later, the 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck, in the same region …



 Peru, was hit by a 8.0 magnitude earthquake on May 25th at 2:40 am Lima time. It left at least one person dead, 11 people injured and several hundred buildings damaged. The earthquake was so strong that it was felt through most of the country, and even sent vibrations as far as Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil. 


The quake - the biggest to strike the country in 12 years – originated in northern Peru the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve Park, deep in the Amazonian jungle, precisely where fracking is conducted by oil and gas companies. Lot 8 is only one example, producing more than 5,000 barrels of crude oil per day.  The epicentre of where  this earthquake occurred is also surrounded by Lot 95 and Lot 103, all of which are well within 50 miles.



During the week prior to this rare earthquake, PetroTal was drilling for a second oil production well in the Brittany field in Block 95, in Loreto, not far from where the earthquake had struck. Now you may be asking, what does fracking have to do with earthquakes? Well, a lot. With the evidence coming in from one study after another, scientists are now more certain than ever that oil and gas drilling is causing hundreds upon hundreds of earthquakes across the U.S., each year … and it makes you wonder… what about Peru and other places around the world?


The 8.0 earthquake that struck Amazon on May 25th in the region of Loreto, close to the Pacaya Samiria reserve is definitely no hot spot for earthquakes. What is strikingly odd about this earthquake is that this area in the Amazon has never been known to receive earthquakes and the locals living there found it very unusual. 



The IGP (Geophysical Institute of Peru) downplayed the intensity of this earthquake, declaring: sismo de Loreto no fue un terremoto, sino un movimiento "de gran intensidad”. In other words, the Loreto earthquake was not an earthquake, but a movement "of great intensity". They claim this, based on the lack of damage caused by this earthquake, in an area that is not very populated – but can you imagine if that same earthquake struck in the area of Lima, with the same intensity? We’re talking about an area of over 9 million people, crowded with buildings and high rises. Can you imagine how much damage it would have caused?

Statistics dating from the 1900’s  to 2015 show that this area around Pacaya Samiria in Loreto is not prone to any seismic activity. However, due to increased fracking and seismic exploration over previous years, this has started to change. People living in other areas are noticing changes and experiencing unusually large temblors. Oil and gas companies have been injecting huge amounts of chemicals and oil well wastewater into the ground, building up immense pressure, and altering rock formations underneath the ground. Eventually something is going to give, and when it does, it results in seismic activity – in other words, an earthquake. 













Fracking and Earthquakes


Human activities that change stresses in Earth’s surface—like hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) and wastewater disposal—are known to cause earthquakes, even in areas where earthquakes are not historically common.

Hydraulic fracturing involves drilling a long steel pipe — a vertical wellbore — into the earth until it hits a rock formation layer containing oil or natural gas. The wellbore then turns and extends horizontally, before “fracking fluid” is pumped through the pipe at high pressure.



In hydraulic fracturing, a slurry of water, sand, and toxic chemicals are pumped through the ground at high pressures, cracking open rocks to release oil and natural gas. This produces earthquakes. Disposing of wastewater by injecting it into the crust can also trigger quakes: As the increased fluid pressure migrates away from the well, it can reach a well-oriented fault that is close to breaking and cause it to slip, triggering deep and shallow earthquakes. Since these deeper faults are often larger, they are capable of producing larger earthquakes.



Research scientists who work for the Geological Survey of Canada, tell us that when you inject into the ground and you elevate the pore pressure, the pore pressure can prime a fault, to prime it to slip,". Even once a fracking operation has ceased, the pressure remains and can still induce future seismic activity.

The relationship between fracking, oil drilling, and anything for that matter that disturbs the rock formation below can cause earthquakes, minor or large, sometimes with the slightest stress or with prolonged stress over time - Earthquakes occur when a crack underground — a fault — pulls apart. 


Guess what’s been happening since December 2018 until now ….

On December 1, the exploitation phase of Lot 95 began, located in the province of Requena, southeast of the Loreto region, which will be in charge of Petrotal Perú SRL. This operation will increase the current production of oil in the country by more than 25%, at its peak moment.

The operation will start with extended tests of the current well and then continue drilling new wells in 2019. The company reported that the objective is to drill up to 11 oil wells and four wells for production water disposal, in the next two to three years.



Now you can simply guess what they were doing during the Month of May, when this large earthquake struck … you guessed it – drilling deep underground oil wells, possibly even conducting seismic exploration – all resulting in disturbance of the rock formations below, which could very well have caused the earthquake on May 25th….


Fracking and Drilling Can Activate Dormant Faults


It is now a fact: Oil and gas drilling triggers man-made earthquakes. And this has been seen in at least eight US states, with findings from the USGS. More than a dozen areas in the US have been shaken in recent years by small earthquakes triggered by oil and gas drilling, according to government reports.





Experts tell us that the spike in seismic activity in the US is mainly caused by the oil and gas industry injecting wastewater deep underground, which can activate dormant faults. A few instances stem from hydraulic fracturing, in which large volumes of water, sand and toxic chemicals are pumped into rock formations in order to free oil or gas. Quakes could continue even if injections were stopped because pressure changes already induced in deep rock can migrate for years, possibly encountering faults.


PetroTal Drilling the Week Prior to Earthquake


During the same month of this rare earthquake, PetroTal reported that it began drilling operations on May 7th, for a second oil production well in the Brittany field in Block 95, in Loreto, which was producing at least 2,250 barrels of crude oil per day. Keep in mind that the deep drilling operation started on May 7 and can take up to 10 days  … Within 2 weeks later, the 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck, in the same region …

PetroTal is projected to produce 39.8 million barrels of reserves with a production peak of up to 10,000 barrels per day, in the next 3 years. It should be noted that Petrotal Peru SRL (formerly Gran Tierra Energy Peru SRL) is the owner of 100% of the License Contract for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in Block 95.



This oil and gas project will then be painted with a false pretense of animal conversation efforts and employment opportunities, in order to convince the public that they care about human health and environment.


And as if this isn’t enough already, communities living in Loreto have already been dealing with contaminated waters and oil spills. The Regional Emergency Operations Center (COER) Loreto reported to date there are 331 people affected by the recent outcrop of hydrocarbons from an abandoned oil well in the Miraflores town center, located on the banks of the Tigre River, province and department of Loreto. This is only one example of the many communities that are suffering, especially for remote indigenous communities who rely on the environment for their survival.


The apu Edison Flores said that the oil spill was an untenable situation and that humanitarian aid is an obligation of the Peruvian state to serve the communities that have been victims of oil exploitation for more than 40 years.

A study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey finds the largest earthquake ever recorded in Kansas was linked to wastewater injection into deep underground wells — a process known as fracking. The November 12, 2014 earthquake, occurred 40 miles southwest of Wichita near the town of Milan. It registered almost 5 on the Richter scale and was felt as far away as Memphis. According to the USGS, the epicenter of the quake was located in an area were seismic activity is extremely rare but was adjacent to known fracking operations


How Fracking Caused Oklahoma's Biggest Earthquake Ever

Oklahoma has experienced a major increase in earthquakes in recent years, including a 5.7-magnitude temblor that injured residents and damaged 200 buildings in November 2011. Swarms of quakes have continued in 2015.


A new study in the journal Geology is the latest to tie a string of unusual earthquakes, in this case, in central Oklahoma, to the injection of wastewater deep underground. Researchers now say that the magnitude 5.7 earthquake near Prague, Okla., on Nov. 6, 2011, may also be the largest ever linked to wastewater injection. Felt as far away as Milwaukee, more than 800 miles away, the quake—the biggest ever recorded in Oklahoma--destroyed 14 homes, buckled a federal highway and left two people injured. Small earthquakes continue to be recorded in the area.


The sudden and violent increase in earthquakes in Oklahoma since 2008 has been well documented: in 2009, the state recorded 50 earthquakes; in 2015, that number exploded to 6,479. Historically, Oklahoma is not a state known for its seismic activity. From 1975 to 2008, Oklahoma averaged only one to three 3.0 magnitude (or greater) earthquakes annually, but from 2009 to mid-2013, this annual average grew to about 40.

Oklahoma is now the most seismically active state in the continental United States – more than California. That’s not a record Oklahomans should be happy to claim. And now, Oklahoma is breaking new ground: an earthquake in the state on September 3 was the strongest ever recorded there, with a magnitude of 5.8.


From 2009 to 2014, as earthquake activity increased drastically, wastewater injection volumes grew by about 43 percent.


Oil Drilling Could Be to Blame for Devastating 1933 California Quake and Others

Research published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America suggests that several earthquakes in the Los Angeles area between 1920 and 1933 may be attributable to oil and gas drilling in the region, reports Annie Sneed for Scientific American.

They found that oil and gas drilling occurred near the epicenters of four major quakes in the LA area, and could have played a role in setting off the temblors. In all cases, the drilling extended down at least 3,000 feet, which was particularly deep for that day and age.


And the quakes were not minor. Sneed points out that the 1933 Long Beach earthquake was 6.4 magnitude, killing 120 people and causing $50 million in damage. The other quakes in the study include the 1920 Inglewood quake, 1929 incident in Whittier and 1930 Santa Monica earthquake.


Texas Sinkholes: One Example out of Many

Several cases throughout the 20th century have demonstrated how withdrawal of oil, gas and associated water from underground reservoirs could lower the land elevation, and cause earthquakes, and activate faults. In 1980, residents of the West Texas town of Wink awoke one morning to find a 370-foot wide, 110-foot deep sinkhole a couple of miles north of downtown. Geologists suspect the sinkhole formed as a result of oil extraction in the area whereby extractors pumped saltwater out from underneath the surface and left a large void that the above layer of earth eventually collapsed into. A second, even bigger sinkhole opened up nearby in 2002.


No matter which way you look at it, extracting water or oil from underground reserves will alter the porosity of rock formations, the underlying pressure, and cause chunks of land to become displaced, collapse, or activate faults, resulting in temblors and larger-sized earthquakes over time. It is a dangerous practice. This, along with injecting rock-dissolving chemicals and water at high pressure, will cause rock formations to fracture, creating new faults, or igniting already present faults. And when all this added pressure does release, it causes temblors and earthquakes.


Offshore Oil Drilling near Tectonic Plates and Earthquakes

Can you guess what happens when you start drilling for oil out in the ocean, near seismicially active subduction zones and ocean trenches? You guessed it ... more earthquakes.

Since the start of offshore oil drilling just around the early 1900s up until now, there have been more than 10,000 “strong” earthquakes—with magnitudes of 6 or greater—around the world, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.




Between 2004 and 2014, 18 earthquakes with magnitudes of 8.0 or more rattled subduction zones around the globe. That's an increase of 265 percent over the average rate of the previous century, which saw 71 great quakes, according to a report to the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America this week in Vancouver, British Columbia.


When you look at the charts, you see earthquake frequency increasing, along with oil production and offshore drilling – imagine how much disturbance and pressure changes we are causing in oceans and deep underground, as we suck out all those reserves of oil, and inject the ground with wastewater and rock-dissolving toxic chemicals. The whole tectonically-active coast of Peru and Chile has been getting drilled for oil and gas offshore, especially in the recent 10 years. What makes this worse is that many oil and gas reserves are located close to faults, and that is where much of  the oil and gas extraction is taking place – setting off more earthquakes  … And it’s only getting worse folks … 


The whole coast of Peru, Equator, and Chile is has been zoned for oil and gas extraction, right along active tectonic plate boundaries and it is full of active oceanic faults. This western coast of South America is full of offshore drilling sites, which have been increasing activity over the past 10 years. You can just guess what that means for earthquakes …

Keep in mind that no drilling site is never fully leak-proof, and there will always be unknown incidents of ocean contamination, killing off marine life. If we look around the world and see how many fish, whales, and other sea-life are washing up ashore DEAD in the thousands, it makes you question offshore drilling. These toxic chemicals that are being released from deep underground should stay underground. They are wrecking havoc on land and in our oceans. Can you imagine what our beautiful beaches and oceans will become in the next 30 years? 


One sign for us is the BP oil spill disaster - an oil spill that has been quietly leaking millions of barrels into the Gulf of Mexico has gone unplugged for so long that it now verges on becoming one of the worst offshore disasters in U.S. history. Between 300 and 700 barrels of oil per day have been spewing from a site 12 miles off the Louisiana coast since 2004. 


Another problem is the abandoning of wells. When you break large holes into areas of pressurized ocean crust, you to deal with the problem of patching it back up. More than 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells lurk in the hard rock beneath the Gulf of Mexico, an environmental minefield that has been ignored for decades. No one -- not industry, not government -- is checking to see if they are leaking, an Associated Press investigation shows.

The oldest of these wells were abandoned in the late 1940s, raising the prospect that many deteriorating sealing jobs are already failing. There's ample reason for worry about all permanently and temporarily abandoned wells -- history shows that they often leak. Wells are sealed underwater much as they are on land. And wells on land and in water face similar risk of failure. Plus, records reviewed by the AP show that offshore wells have failed.



Deepsea Mining

Experts predict that removing a sizeable portion of the seafloor could cause a major disturbance. Deep-sea mining may release toxic plumes of sediment from mining machinery, degrading or killing the seabed's filter-feeding organisms vital to the vent food chain. Deep-sea mining can reopen naturally closed vents and release sulfur and methane compounds toxic to surrounding ecosystems. Some predict the mining could cause sub oceanic landslides, while others fear the equipment will produce enough noise and vibration in the floor-to-surface water column to disrupt the lives of marine mammals that live there. As conservationist Charles Clover said, "The potential for conflict between commerce and conservation is huge."


Fracking the Amazon


Look at the oil spilled in the world's 2nd 'Best Place for Wildlife'


Since 2016, more than 20,000 barrels of petroleum have spilled from the critical Peruvian oil pipeline, and 5,600 barrels have sprung leaks because of corrosion or operative failures ... this is only reported incidents.  



Well over half of the Peruvian Amazon is Leased for Petroleum Development. “These include American companies Occidental, ConocoPhillips, Barrett, Harken, Hunt, and Amareda Hess.” In addition, Pluspetrol of Argentina, Petrobras of Brazil, Repsol of Spain, Petrolifera of Canada, and Sipet and CNPC of China are all operating multiple concessions. Most new oil concession contracts establish a seven year exploration phase consisting of seismic studies and the drilling of several exploratory wells in remote jungle areas. 


The hydrocarbon industry's push into the Tropical Andes and Amazon, along with oil spills and environmental damage, is something that that is rarely mentioned in the media. Media attention has turned on crop, logging and cattle threats to the Brazilian Amazon. But recent oil and gas finds are turning the eastern slopes of the Andes Mountains and the adjacent Amazonian lowlands of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia into a hydrocarbon hotspot.

In Peru and Ecuador, where biodiversity levels peak and activists say Big Oil has penetrated public institutions, the problem is especially concerning: Over half of Peru's pristine rainforests are now being explored for oil and gas, and they are not alone, as other countries nearby are experiencing the same problems.  


Look at the oil spilled in the world's 2nd 'Best Place for Wildlife'. Decades of exploration and exploitation has led to severe contamination in the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve in Peru’s Amazon. “Pacaya-Samiria”, as it’s dubbed, extends for just over two million hectares and is the second largest of Peru’s 170 “protected natural areas.” “Located near the Amazon headwaters in Peru,” “the reserve is home to some of the biggest wildlife populations in the Amazon.” Pacaya-Samiria is “by far the largest fisheries reproduction area in western Amazonia”.

However, don’t be misled by Pacaya-Samiria’s “protected natural area” status. Oil companies have been there for decades, and have now actively been fracking. Major operations are in the north-central part of the reserve which forms part of a concession called Lot 8, one of the top four most productive oil concessions in the country. In the 1970s, it was Peru’s own Petroperu working there, but since 1996 it has been Pluspetrol, initially leading a consortium but since 2003 partnered by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). Lot 8 is known to produce more than 5,000 barrels of crude oil per day. 1 barrel of oil is about 160 L. 5000 barrels is nearly 800,000 L per day. Back in April, 2019, at Lot 8, 200 demonstrators attacked Pluspetrol's oil operation.


Roughly 10 years ago, Lot 164 and 154 on the outskirts of the southern side of Pacaya Samiria was purchased by Talisman from the government to conduct oil and gas operations. Currently, Talisman owns Lot 103, to the south west; and Gran Tierra owns lot 95 to the south east.

Pluspetrol also operates in the Marañón basin, in the Peruvian Amazon, Lote 1AB in Andoas and Lote 8, where the largest oil production in Peru is located, which represents a formidable logistical challenge due to its remote and semi-isolated location. It can only be reached by plane to Alfredo Bauer Airport, a small regional airport or by barge sailing the Amazonian rivers

In 2013, following the establishment of a government Cross-sector Commission the year before, several ministries entered Pacaya-Samiria to test the water, soil and sediment as part of a wider investigation of the Maranon basin and other rivers in Peru’s northern Amazon. The results were released in January 2014 and led to the Environment Ministry declaring 221,000 hectares of the Maranon basin - including most of the Lot 8 area in Pacaya-Samiria - to be an “environmental emergency” zone.

In November 2015 researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, and the Erasmus University Rotterdam released a report on contamination in Pacaya-Samiria. Based on a survey of 73 technical reports by public and private institutions analysing 420 water samples and 145 soil samples in the reserve, the report found that concentrations of lead, arsenic, nickel and cadmium in the water exceed legal limits, and also found evidence of contamination by TPHs and oils, which are unregulated. In addition, it found levels of TPHs, barium and lead in the soil exceeding legal limits - with the worst-hit zones near the centre of oil operations in the reserve, called “Bateria 3”, and along the pipeline running north to the River Maranon.


The researchers stated that in recent years Pluspetrol began to “reinject” its toxic production waters into the ground rather than dumping them into the reserve’s rivers, but claimed that “contamination connected to oil activities” has continued.

In the North Peruvian province of Loreto is home to both the Peruvian Amazon and 27 Indigenous tribes that have coexisted with and relied on the rainforest for centuries. However in the seventies, whilst the world was watching the Vietnam war, a small company called Apple was founded, and an ambitious new film series set in a galaxy far away was released, oil extraction moved into the Peruvian Amazon and grew to produce approximately 30% the Peruvian GDP. Since then, several oil corporations have been active in the region, companies such as OXY, Pluspetrol, China National Petroleum Corporation, and Petroperú, all participating in a relay race of dirty legacies.


Conclusion

We mustn’t tolerate the dangerous and literally earth-shattering effects of fracking any longer. The oil and gas industry has already shown its willingness to put profits over the health and safety of the people living in affected communities. And unless we stop fracking and keep fossil fuels in the ground right now, cities around the world can count on more environmental problems, less clean water, and likely worse, earthquakes.

If this fracking madness doesn't stop, pretty soon we'll be saying goodbye to our clean water reserves.

“There’s been no doubt in my mind what’s causing these earthquakes,” “Sadly, it’s really taken a long time for people to come around. Our lives are being placed at risk. Our homes are being broken. Our forests are being destroyed, our water contaminated, and our land poisoned, all in the name of economy, petrodollars, and the World Bank – to feed oil and gas giants.




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