Injection‐Related Hazards in the Permian Basin as Characterized by Spaceborne InSAR and In Situ Measurements

Wastewater injection in Texas has led to leakage at compromised wells and anomalous seismicity. We use Sentinel‐1 Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) surface deformation maps and a suite of ground measurements to characterize injection‐related hazards. In Crane County, we measure 53 cm of uplift in a 5 region from January 2021 to October 2023 followed by 10 cm of subsidence from November 2023 to September 2024, associated with a well blowout. In Ward County, we show that well leakage may occur in regions that experience subsidence, because production‐induced subsidence can offset injection‐induced uplift. In Andrews County, 10 cm/yr uplift patterns can be observed due to injection in Texas, which induced seismicity in the neighboring state, New Mexico. Near real‐time InSAR observations are now regularly used to inform environmental hazards due to wastewater injection.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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