Ursula: FROM A MISSION TO PLUTO TO LARGE SCALE ROBOTICS, PROJECTS AND STUDIES AT SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE REACH FAR AND WIDE. TODAY AT THE ANNUAL MEETING THE LINK BETWEEN SHALE OIL PRODUCTION AND EARTHQUAKES TOOK CENTER STAGE. THAT IS A RESULT OF WHAT THEY SAY ARE WASTE WATER DISPOSAL PROJECTS. NOW SOFTWARE DEVELOPED CAN HELP TELL US IF WE’RE AT RISK. WHEN THE MEETING LET OUT, A LONG LIST OF RESEARCH PROJECTS WERE PUT UP, AMONG THEM DEVELOPMENT OF SOFTWARE THAT HELPS TO SHOW IF SAN ANTONIO AND MORE SPECIFICALLY ITS EAGLE FORD WASTE WATER INJECTIONS ARE ON SHAKY GROUND. IF WE UNDERSTAND THE SYSTEM WELL ENOUGH WE CAN FIGURE OUT INDUCED EARTHQUAKES ARE LIKELY. AND IF THEY ARE CAN WE MITIGATE THOSE BY CHANGING THE INJECTION RATE? Ursula: MEANING LESS WATER PERHAPS INJECTED INTO DISPOSAL WELLS OR A CHANGE IN THE RATE OF INGENERATION — INJECTION MAY CHANGE THE PROBABILITY OF A MAN MADE EARTHQUAKE. BUT THIS IS NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH FRACKING AND EARTHQUAKES. THE AMOUNT OF WATER INJECTED FOR FRACKING IS SMALL COMPARED TO WASTE WATER DISPOSAL.
THOSE WASTE WATER WELLS, WHEN THEY ARE OPERATING, GO 24 HOURS A DAY IN PLACES. Ursula: IT’S A DIFFERENT ISSUE BUT ONE THROUGH THE NEW ENHANCED INSTITUTE 3-D SOFTWARE CAN BE PERHAPS BETTER UNDERSTOOD ON A WELL BY WELL BASIS. AS FOR SAN ANTONIO — WHAT WE EXPECT IS THAT THERE ARE SOME PLACES WHERE INJECTION, NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU DO, IS PROBABLY GOING TO CREATE EARTHQUAKES AND MAYBE THAT’S NOT A GOOD LOCATION.
OTHER PLACES YOU MAY BE ABLE TO INJECT AS MUCH AS YOU WANT AND IT’S PROBABLY OKAY. THEN THERE ARE THE OTHER PLACES IN BETWEEN IF YOU CAN CONTROL THE INJECTION RATE OR INJECTION VOLUME MAYBE YOU CAN STAY BELOW THE THRESHOLD LEVEL. Ursula: AND HE SAYS SAN ANTONIO, BECAUSE OF ITS GEOLOGIC MAKEUP IS AT LOW RISK FOR A MAN MADE EARTHQUAKE. SOUTHWEST INSTITUTE IS A.