Earthquake on September 5, 2019 in the Sosnogorsk region of the Republic of Komi

On September 5, 2019, a seismic event occurred in the Sosnogorsk region of the Komi Republic. The parameters of the hypocenter were determined in the WSG and NAS programs of the Geophysical Survey of RAS. In processing, we used data from20 Russian and foreign stations with epicentral distances from 184 to 2298 km, azimuthal coverage 150 310°, maximum azimuthal gap -200°. The following parameters of the September 5 earthquake were obtained as a result of instrumental processing: coordinates 63.3174N, 56.4113E, origin time t0=01:42:42.8 (UTC), depth h=15 km, energy class according to T.G. Rautian Kp=9.9/5, local magnitude M L=3.4/5, Ms =2.7/5, error ellipse Az Major=60°, R minor=6.4 km, R major=16.2 km. According to our calculations, the earthquake occurred near the working village Neftepechorsk, within the Pashninskoye and Beregovoye oil and gas fields. We sent out questionnaires for interviewing LUKOIL Ukhtaneftegaz employees of LUKOIL Komi LLC, who were in the village during this period. It turned out that the event was felt by almost all the workers of the village. Based on the macroseismic survey data, the intensity of the earthquake at the epicenter was 4 points according to Seismic intensity scale 2017. Tectonically, the earthquake refers to the Pechora Plate, to the Crust Mantle Ilych Chikshin Fault. It is noteworthy that within the Pechora Plate no seismic events were previously recorded instrumentally. Earthquakes in oil and gas bearing regions are tectonic in nature, but their manifestation is initiated by the development of oil and gas fields. Changes in hydroand gas dynamics cause corresponding changes in the geodynamics of the solid part of the earth's crust, which often lead to earthquakes. The arguments above give grounds to consider the seismic event on September 5, 2019 as a “technogenic earthquake”.