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Collaborating Authors
hydraulic fracturing-induced seismicity
ABSTRACT: Efforts to quantify induced-seismicity risk and to develop mitigation strategies are hampered by a dearth of numerical schemes that can accommodate realistic Earth models while capturing the full spectrum of applicable physics. Here we present a new approach to modelling induced seismicity, whereby the three principal mechanisms for induced-seismicity triggering are accounted for, and uncertainties in input parameters are addressed stochastically to provide a probabilistic assessment of induced-seismicity hazard. The models provide probabilities for the expected maximum magnitudes of events and the sensitivities of results to the different input parameters can be analyzed. In this manner, we can estimate the probabilities of generating an event of a certain magnitude based on the modelled injection scenario and parameter distributions. This type of modelling can be used to give a site-specific assessment of the probability of generating an induced event changes, based on different treatment designs. Case studies from western Canada are used to evaluate the applicability of this approach for unconventional oil and gas development. This methodology also has potential for mitigating injection-induced seismicity in other industries, including geothermal energy and gigatonne-scale CO2 storage. 1. Introduction Anthropogenic fluid injection into the subsurface is known to cause induced seismicity in some cases. Well-known examples include enhanced geothermal systems (Lee et al., 2019), wastewater disposal (Ellsworth, 2013) and hydraulic fracturing (Bao and Eaton, 2016). In the case of hydraulic fracturing, the stimulation process is designed to fracture the reservoir rocks and this induces microseismic events that are usually too small to be felt at surface (M < 2). Nevertheless, in rare cases, events can be large enough to exceed local regulations designed to prevent felt earthquakes. This can result in costly delays in resource extraction, moratoriums on resource development, or ultimately, infrastructure damage and human loss of life (Atkinson et al., 2020). Mitigating this issue is therefore an important goal. However, induced seismicity is a very complex problem and current mitigation strategies unfortunately have known drawbacks and therefore may not present optimal solutions to meet this objective.
- North America > United States (0.94)
- North America > Canada > Alberta (0.49)
- Geology > Geological Subdiscipline > Geomechanics (1.00)
- Geology > Structural Geology > Tectonics > Plate Tectonics > Earthquake (0.95)
- Geology > Structural Geology > Fault (0.71)
- North America > Canada > Saskatchewan > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin (0.99)
- North America > Canada > Northwest Territories > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin (0.99)
- North America > Canada > Manitoba > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin (0.99)
- (3 more...)
Comprehensive Characterization and Mitigation of Hydraulic Fracturing-Induced Seismicity in Fox Creek, Alberta
Hui, Gang (University of Calgary) | Chen, Shengnan (University of Calgary (Corresponding author) | Chen, Zhangxin (email: snchen@ucalgary.ca)) | Gu, Fei (University of Calgary) | Ghoroori, Mathab (Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development) | Mirza, Mohammad Ali (University of Calgary)
Summary The relationships among formation properties, fracturing operations, and induced earthquakes nucleated at distinctive moments and positions remain unclear. In this study, a complete data set on formations, seismicity, and fracturing treatments is collected in Fox Creek, Alberta, Canada. The data set is then used to characterize the induced seismicity and evaluate its susceptibility toward fracturing stimulations via integration of geology, geomechanics, and hydrology. In addition, an integrated geological index (IGI) and a combined geomechanical index (CGI) are first proposed to indicate seismicity susceptibility, which is consistent with the spatial distribution of induced earthquakes. Finally, mitigation strategy results suggest that enlarging a hydraulic fracture-fault distance and decreasing a fracturing job size can reduce the risk of potential seismic activities. Introduction Recent surging-induced seismicity events have been attributed to anthropogenic resource exploration and production activities, such as hydraulic fracturing (HF), wastewater disposal, and geothermal stimulation (Wetmiller 1986; Gaucher et al. 2015; Schultz et al. 2014, 2020; Grigoli et al. 2017). Several earthquakes with large magnitudes have been reported in North America, Southern China, United Kingdom, and Switzerland, which are spatiotemporally correlated with HF operations in unconventional resources (Bao and Eaton 2016; Lei et al. 2017; Eyre et al. 2019; Schultz et al. 2020). During HF operations, tens of thousands of cubic meters of fluids are injected under high pressure to create the tensile failure of low-permeability reservoir rocks and generate fracture networks. Thus, a comprehensive study is required to understand the triggering mechanisms and mitigate potential seismicity risks. Two major hypotheses have been proposed to understand the fundamental mechanisms of HF-induced seismicity, including pore pressure diffusion and poroelastic stress perturbation, which can decrease the fault strength and thus cause faults to slip (Healy et al. 1968; Ellsworth 2013; King and Deves 2015; Galloway et al. 2018).
- North America > Canada > Alberta (1.00)
- Europe (1.00)
- Research Report > New Finding (0.68)
- Research Report > Experimental Study (0.66)
- Geology > Structural Geology > Tectonics > Plate Tectonics > Earthquake (1.00)
- Geology > Geological Subdiscipline > Geomechanics (1.00)
- North America > Canada > Saskatchewan > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin (0.99)
- North America > Canada > Northwest Territories > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin (0.99)
- North America > Canada > Manitoba > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin (0.99)
- (5 more...)
A Novel Coupled Approach to Investigate the Spatiotemporal Evolution of Fracturing-Induced Seismicity: Case Study
Hui, Gang (University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada) | Chen, Shengnan (University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada) | Gu, Fei (PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, Beijing, China)
Abstract The recent seismicity rate increase in Fox Creek is believed to be linked to the hydraulic fracturing operations near the region. However, the spatiotemporal evolution of hydraulic fracturing-induced seismicity is not well understood. Here, a coupled approach of geology, geomechanics, and hydrology is proposed to characterize the spatiotemporal evolution of hydraulic fracturing-induced seismicity. The seismogenic faults in the vicinity of stimulated wells are derived from the focal mechanisms of mainshock event and lineament features of induced events. In addition, the propagation of hydraulic fractures is simulated by using the PKN model, in combination with inferred fault, to characterize the possible well-fault hydrological communication. The original stress state of inferred fault is determined based on the geomechanics analysis. Based on the poroelasticity theory, the coupled flow-geomechanics simulation is finally conducted to quantitatively understand the fluid diffusion and poroelastic stress perturbation in response to hydraulic fracturing. A case study of a moment-magnitude-3.4 earthquake near Fox Creek is utilized to demonstrate the applicability of the coupled approach. It is shown that hydraulic fractures propagated along NE45° and connected with one North-south trending fault, causing the activation of fault and triggered the large magnitude event during fracturing operations. The barrier property of inferred fault under the strike-slip faulting regime constrains the nucleation position of induced seismicity within the injection layer. The combined changes of pore pressure and poroelastic stress caused the inferred fault to move towards the failure state and triggered the earthquake swarms. The associated spatiotemporal changes of Coulomb Failure Stress along the fault plane is well in line with the spatiotemporal pattern of induced seismicity in the studied case. Risks of seismic hazards could be reduced by decreasing fracturing job size during fracturing stimulations.
- Geology > Structural Geology > Tectonics > Plate Tectonics > Earthquake (1.00)
- Geology > Structural Geology > Fault (1.00)
- Geology > Geological Subdiscipline > Geomechanics (1.00)
- North America > Canada > Saskatchewan > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin (0.99)
- North America > Canada > Northwest Territories > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin (0.99)
- North America > Canada > Manitoba > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin (0.99)
- (2 more...)
2000-2020: Two Decades of Evolution of Hydraulic Fracturing-Induced Seismicity in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin
Rodríguez-Pradilla, Germán (School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, UK.) | Eaton, David (Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Canada.) | Popp, Melanie (geoLOGIC Systems Ltd., Calgary, Canada.)
Abstract The goal of this work is to calibrate a regional predictive model for maximum magnitude of seismic activity associated with hydraulic-fracturing in low-permeability formations in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB). Hydraulic fracturing data (i.e. total injected volume, injection rate, and pressure) were compiled from more than 40,000 hydraulic-fractured wells in the WCSB. These wells were drilled into more than 100 different formations over a 20-year period (January 1st, 2000 and January 1st, 2020). The total injected volume per unit area was calculated utilizing an area of 0.2° in longitude by 0.1° in latitude (or approximately 13x11km, somewhat larger than a standard township of 6x6 miles). This volume was then used to correlate with reported seismicity in the same unit areas. Collectively, within the 143 km area considered in this study, a correlation between the total injected volume and the maximum magnitude of seismic events was observed. Results are similar to the maximum-magnitude forecasting model proposed by A. McGarr (JGR, 2014) for seismic events induced by wastewater injection wells in central US. The McGarr method is also based on the total injected fluid per well (or per multiple nearby wells located in the same unit area). However, in some areas in the WCSB, lower injected fluid volumes than the McGarr model predicts were needed to induce seismic events of magnitude 3.0 or higher, although with a similar linear relation. The result of this work is the calculation of a calibration parameter for the McGarr model to better predict the magnitudes of seismic events associated with the injected volumes of hydraulic fracturing. This model can be used to predict induced seismicity in future unconventional hydraulic fracturing treatments and prevent large-magnitude seismic events from occurring. The rich dataset available from the WCSB allowed us to carry out a robust analysis of the influence of critical parameters (such as the total injected fluid) in the maximum magnitude of seismic events associated with the hydraulic-fracturing stimulation of unconventional wells. This analysis could be replicated for any other sedimentary basin with unconventional wells by compiling similar stimulation and earthquake data as in this study.
- North America > Canada > Saskatchewan (1.00)
- North America > Canada > Northwest Territories (1.00)
- North America > Canada > Manitoba (1.00)
- (2 more...)
- Geology > Structural Geology > Tectonics > Plate Tectonics > Earthquake (1.00)
- Geology > Sedimentary Basin (1.00)
- North America > Canada > Saskatchewan > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin (0.99)
- North America > Canada > Northwest Territories > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin (0.99)
- North America > Canada > Manitoba > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin (0.99)
- (8 more...)
Further insights on the role of aseismic slip in hydraulic fracturing-induced seismicity
Eyre, Thomas (University of Calgary) | Eaton, David (University of Calgary) | Zecevic, Megan (University of Calgary) | Venieri, Marco (University of Calgary) | Weir, Ronald (University of Calgary) | Lawton, Donald (University of Calgary) | Garagash, Dmitry (Dalhousie University)
Earthquakes induced by hydraulic fracturing are typically believed to be caused by elevated pore pressure or increased shear stress. However, according to a recent study, these mechanisms are incompatible with experiments and rate-state frictional models that predict stable sliding (aseismic slip) for faults with high clay content or total organic carbon, as well as observations of the timings and locations of the seismicity. An alternative model was therefore proposed, in which distal, unstable regions of a fault are loaded by aseismic slip on stable regions of the fault stimulated by hydraulic fracturing. This model has significant implications in terms of mitigating induced seismicity, as it suggests that there may be a potentially measurable deformation signal tens of hours before earthquake nucleation. However, the conclusions of that study were based on a relatively small number of events from a small local broadband network. In this study we integrate a high-resolution microseismic dataset from the same treatment with that previous work, and demonstrate that the microseismic data provides an even more compelling case that aseismic slip plays a role in induced seismicity. Presentation Date: Monday, October 12, 2020 Session Start Time: 1:50 PM Presentation Time: 2:15 PM Location: 360A Presentation Type: Oral
- Geology > Structural Geology > Tectonics > Plate Tectonics > Earthquake (1.00)
- Geology > Geological Subdiscipline (1.00)
- Geology > Rock Type > Sedimentary Rock (0.95)
- North America > Canada > Saskatchewan > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin (0.99)
- North America > Canada > Northwest Territories > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin (0.99)
- North America > Canada > Manitoba > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin (0.99)
- (4 more...)
Investigating triggering mechanisms behind hydraulic fracturing-induced seismicity: Elastic stress transfer
Kettlety, Tom (School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol) | Verdon, James P. (School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol) | Werner, Maximilian (School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol) | Kendall, J Michael (School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol)
ABSTRACT In this study we investigate the potential driving mechanisms that lead to induced seismicity during hydraulic fracturing. Fluid processes (pore-pressure changes and poroelastic effects) are often considered to be the primary driver. However, some studies have suggested that elastic deformation, and the resulting stress interactions, may contribute to further seismicity. In this paper we use a dataset acquired during hydraulic fracturing to calculate elastic stress transfer during a period of fault activation and induced seismicity. We find that elastic stresses may have weakly promoted failure during the initial phase of activity. However, at later times, stress changes generally acted to inhibit further slip. These signals are further weakened once uncertainties in source mechanisms and other geomechanical parameters are taken into account. Given the estimated stress field, relatively large increases in pore pressure are required to reach the Mohr-Coulomb failure envelope for these faults. We therefore hypothesise that in such scenarios the relatively smaller scale elastic stress transfer effects do not play a significant role. Presentation Date: Tuesday, October 16, 2018 Start Time: 1:50:00 PM Location: 208A (Anaheim Convention Center) Presentation Type: Oral
- Geology > Geological Subdiscipline > Geomechanics (1.00)
- Geology > Structural Geology > Tectonics > Plate Tectonics > Earthquake (0.72)
- North America > Canada > Yukon > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Liard Basin (0.94)
- North America > Canada > Northwest Territories > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Liard Basin (0.94)
- North America > Canada > British Columbia > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Liard Basin (0.94)
- North America > Canada > British Columbia > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Horn River Basin (0.94)
- Information Technology > Artificial Intelligence (0.47)
- Information Technology > Data Science > Data Mining (0.47)