Full Title: Induced Seismicity Impacts of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development
Author(s): Alan J. Krupnick & Isabel Echarte
Publisher(s): Resources For the Future
Publication Date: June 1, 2017
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Description (excerpt):
This report provides an overview of the existing state of research on induced seismicity related to both unconventional and conventional oil and gas development in the United States. We provide background on this issue, a summary of the most relevant takeaways from each study, and judgments about the state of this body of literature. The topics we discuss include the causes of induced seismicity, the hazards associated with induced seismicity, what makes an area more likely to experience induced seismicity, and monitoring and mitigation potential. We also review several economic studies assessing the valuation of earthquake risk in the residential housing market, with one study focused on induced seismicity specifically, and one survey on the acceptability of seismicity that discusses induced seismicity. We additionally critique the current breadth of the literature using a “span chart,” which summarizes the literature along a key dimension: how many elements of the damage function model (which links oil and gas activities to burdens, concentrations, exposures, impacts, and monetary value) are covered by a given study.