Standing in his living room, Richard Kabzems clutches a thick binder filled with letters and notes documenting his two-year battle against fracking wells near his home in Farmington, B.C.
Ovintiv, a multinational oil and gas company, announced plans two years ago to expand fracking at a site on a hill about a kilometer from Kabzems’s home in the rural Lebell subdivision. The BC Energy Regulator (BCER) approved the permit.
Over the past 24 months, Kabzems and his wife, Sandy Burton, have written six detailed letters opposing the project to the gas company, along with additional correspondence to the provincial regulator. However, drilling is scheduled to begin on Feb. 9 for the first of 24 projected wells at the site.
“We are bearing the risk, and they are saying, ‘Don’t worry,'” Kabzems said.
His concerns stem from a troubling trend. In 2024, the number of magnitude 3 or higher earthquakes linked to hydraulic fracturing and wastewater storage hit a record high in the Montney Formation, a gas-rich area spanning northeastern B.C. and northwestern Alberta. Monitoring data from Natural Resources Canada recorded 34 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or above—more than triple the number from a decade ago.
The correlation between oil and gas activity and induced seismicity is well-documented globally. Magnitude 3 quakes can be felt and may cause damage, depending on their location. Each step up in magnitude releases ten times more energy.
Kabzems and Burton have felt the tremors before, from fracking sites farther away than the new drill site.
“It felt like a truck was hitting the side of our house, and the engine rumbling—this deep, low rumbling—and things would shift,” Kabzems recalled of quakes four years ago.
In June 2023, their home insurer informed them that earthquake coverage would be excluded from their policy.
Former senior geoscientist Allan Chapman, who analyzed seismic data from the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission, concluded that earthquake frequency will continue to rise as fracking expands in the Peace River area.
“The first few times you experience a quake, you don’t know what’s happening. You have no prior experience. And with earthquakes, you just don’t know when they will occur,” Kabzems said.
Hydraulic fracturing in the Montney Formation involves deep vertical drilling, followed by horizontal drilling up to four kilometers. A mixture of water, sand, and chemicals is injected at high pressure to fracture the rock and release gas or oil. If the process intersects a fault, it can trigger seismic activity.
The industry has acknowledged the risks, but Ovintiv’s website claims the occurrence and risk of seismicity remain “very low.” The company states it works with independent researchers and regulatory agencies to mitigate risks. While consultation sessions have been held with Farmington residents, Ovintiv declined an interview with CBC News.
The rise in stronger quakes is not limited to the Peace River region. Both B.C. and Alberta’s oil and gas sectors have seen an increase in higher-magnitude earthquakes.
“In 2021, we saw about 60 earthquakes a year, and in 2024, we were up to 160,” said Gail Atkinson, a consulting seismologist and former professor at Western University in Ontario.
Atkinson, who has studied induced seismicity for decades, confirms the direct link between increased fracking and stronger seismic events. “Most quakes are smaller magnitudes, but as their frequency rises, so does the likelihood of stronger quakes.”
In November 2018, a 4.6 magnitude induced earthquake forced the evacuation of construction workers from the Site C dam on the Peace River. Atkinson urges regulators to address risks by expanding buffer zones around critical infrastructure.
“For major dams and other critical infrastructure, exclusion zones for fracking make far more sense,” she said.
Concerns are mounting as fracking in northeastern B.C. accelerates, driven by the launch of a new natural gas pipeline feeding an LNG terminal in Kitimat, B.C. The pipeline is expected to transport two million cubic feet of gas per day, potentially doubling production in the Montney region over the next two decades.
Meanwhile, induced earthquakes linked to fracking are also surging in Texas. In July 2023, Snyder, Texas, experienced 60 tremors in one week, including a magnitude 5.1 quake.
“It sounded like a herd of cattle coming, then an eerie feeling, and then like the cattle were leaving,” said Jay Callaway, Snyder’s emergency management coordinator. Damage included cracked walls, driveways, and foundations, with emergency teams repairing a city water line.
Texas’s TexNet seismic monitoring program, led by seismologist Alexandros Savvaidis, now operates 200 sensors statewide. “When I arrived in 2016, the industry denied the connection between fracking and quakes. In the last five years, they’ve accepted it,” he said.
Midland, Texas, a hub of the Permian Basin’s oil industry, has seen fracking extend into urban areas. Some operators believe untapped sections within city limits yield better wells.
“This operator is betting on fertile ground that hasn’t been drilled because it was in town,” said Steve Melzer, a Texas oil industry consultant.
Melzer warns that if seismic activity worsens, it could jeopardize industry operations. “If we have another big quake near an urban center, it’s going to impact us big-time.”
In B.C., Kabzems has formally appealed the fracking permit for Farmington, but he has yet to receive a response since October. Construction, however, continues.
The BC Energy Regulator cites its safeguards, including 35 seismic monitors in Montney and a “traffic light system” that requires operators to halt fracking and investigate when quakes reach magnitude 3 or higher.
Atkinson cautions that these measures are not foolproof. “If a quake starts at magnitude 4 or 5 without smaller precursors, the traffic light system won’t work,” she said.
“I don’t blame oil and gas companies for following regulations. It’s up to the government and regulators to protect the population and the industry from an environmental catastrophe caused by an earthquake in the wrong place.”
Source: Swifteradio.com
