The Water, Environmental, and Engineering Group examines the interplay between water and energy resources and spatial and temporal trends to understand (1) volumes of water that are co-produced with oil and gas, (2) formations, zones and plays from which brine is co-produced, (3) management of saltwater, (4) injection of wastewater, (5) correlation of injection with earthquakes, and (6) strategies for reduction or mitigation of seismic hazard through various projects. Some of our recent projects include; Regional Arbuckle Characterization and Bottom Hole Pressure Monitoring and Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC).
Current research is presented in numerous public venues and conferences including meetings of the Groundwater Protection Council (GWPC), Geological Society of America (GSA), American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), National Ground Water Association (NGWA), and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
The Hydrogeology Lab is part of the Oklahoma Geological Survey and the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy at The University of Oklahoma (OU). Projects originating from the lab will examine earth, water, and energy resources in the state of Oklahoma and beyond. Recent projects were focused on the Arbuckle Group of Oklahoma and Kansas, the Antlers Formation/Aquifer of southern Oklahoma (aka Edwards/Trinity Group of Texas), and the Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin, Colorado.
Kroll, K. A., Cochran, E. S., and Murray, K. E., 2017-accepted, Poroelastic properties of the Arbuckle Group in Oklahoma derived from well fluid level response to the 3 September 2016 Mw5.8 Pawnee and 7 November 2016 Mw5.0 Cushing Earthquakes: Seismological Research Letters, p. 22.
Walker, E., Anderson, A., Read, L., Hogue, T. (2017). “Water Use for Hydraulic Fracturing of Oil and Gas in the South Platte River Basin, CO”. Journal of the American Water Resources Association. (in preparation)
Haffener, J., X. Chen, K. Murray, and T. Goebel. 2016. A robust, statistical identification and analysis of fluid disposal wells that cause earthquakes in central Oklahoma. In American Geophysical Union (AGU) Annual Fall Meeting. San Francisco, CA.Murray, K.E. 2016. Modeling Approach for Estimating Co-Produced Water Volumes and Saltwater Disposal Volumes in Oklahoma. In American Geophysical Union (AGU) Annual Fall Meeting. San Francisco, CA.
Murray, K.E. 2016. Seismic Moment versus Water: A Study of Market Forces and Regulatory Actions. GSA Abstracts with Programs 48 no. 7: 95-11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/abs/2016AM-286149
Perilla, P., and K.E. Murray. 2016. Pressure Prediction between Two Wells using the Laplacian Component in the Diffusion Equation: Analytical Solution in One Dimension. GSA Abstracts with Programs 48 no. 7: 120-10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/abs/2016AM-284106
Williams, J., and K.E. Murray. 2016. Formation Level Characterization of the Arbuckle Group in Central Oklahoma: A Key to Understanding Induced Seismicity. GSA Abstracts with Programs 48 no. 7: 309-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/abs/2016AM-286782
Morgan, B. C., and Murray, K. E. (2015) Characterizing Small-Scale Permeability of the Arbuckle Group, Oklahoma. Oklahoma Geological Survey Open File Report (OF2-2015). Norman, OK. 12 pages. (PDF)
