Offshore Spanish gas project linked to earthquakes
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2013-11-13
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Originally published on October 9, 2013
The Spanish government said there is a "limited risk" of a damaging earthquake linked to a sub-sea gas storage project off the country's eastern coast.
Increased seismic activity in the Gulf of Valencia, including a 4.2 magnitude quake on October 3, has coincided with the Castor gas injection project in which a depleted undersea oil reservoir is filled filled natural gas to be transported to the Spanish mainland via a pipeline.
According to a Reuters report: "The government last week ordered a stop to injections of gas into the European Investment Bank-backed Castor storage plant, while scientists study whether the injections triggered the quakes.
The report continues:
Industry Minister Jose Manuel Soria said on Tuesday there was no confirmed link between the earthquakes and the work on the plant, but seismologists have said they believe there is a connection, because the tremors started at the same time as the injections of gas.
Owner-operator Escal UGS has injected so-called cushion gas into the reservoir and withdrawn seawater to get it ready for storage. A phase of injections ended on Sept. 16, and another round of activity was to resume in October but is now suspended.
Escal said the plant had approval from Spain's environmental authorities.
An environmental group that has fought the plant since its conception in 2007 said there was no specific study on potential seismic activity from Castor and that it was built near a fault line.
"We insisted on a seismic report. There was none. If there are small earthquakes now, what will happen when the plant is at full capacity?" said Cristina Reverter, spokeswoman for the Citizens' Platform in Defence of Senia Lands.
ACS was not immediately able to confirm whether the plant was built near a fault line, and no one was able to comment at Escal or the National Geographic Institute.
The quake, with an epicentre 35 km southeast of the town of Alcanar, did not cause any damage to buildings but scared residents unaccustomed to seismic activity.
The Spanish government said there is a "limited risk" of a damaging earthquake linked to a sub-sea gas storage project off the country's eastern coast.
Increased seismic activity in the Gulf of Valencia, including a 4.2 magnitude quake on October 3, has coincided with the Castor gas injection project in which a depleted undersea oil reservoir is filled filled natural gas to be transported to the Spanish mainland via a pipeline.
According to a Reuters report: "The government last week ordered a stop to injections of gas into the European Investment Bank-backed Castor storage plant, while scientists study whether the injections triggered the quakes.
The report continues:
Industry Minister Jose Manuel Soria said on Tuesday there was no confirmed link between the earthquakes and the work on the plant, but seismologists have said they believe there is a connection, because the tremors started at the same time as the injections of gas.
Owner-operator Escal UGS has injected so-called cushion gas into the reservoir and withdrawn seawater to get it ready for storage. A phase of injections ended on Sept. 16, and another round of activity was to resume in October but is now suspended.
Escal said the plant had approval from Spain's environmental authorities.
An environmental group that has fought the plant since its conception in 2007 said there was no specific study on potential seismic activity from Castor and that it was built near a fault line.
"We insisted on a seismic report. There was none. If there are small earthquakes now, what will happen when the plant is at full capacity?" said Cristina Reverter, spokeswoman for the Citizens' Platform in Defence of Senia Lands.
ACS was not immediately able to confirm whether the plant was built near a fault line, and no one was able to comment at Escal or the National Geographic Institute.
The quake, with an epicentre 35 km southeast of the town of Alcanar, did not cause any damage to buildings but scared residents unaccustomed to seismic activity.
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