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Sealing faults and fluid-induced seismicity
Zahra Esmaeilzadeh1, David W Eaton1, Navid Hosseini2
1Department of Earth, Energy & Environment, University of Calgary , Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Summary
Sealing faults, barriers to fluid flow, correlate with induced seismicity during hydraulic fracturing (HF). This study reveals their role in subsurface pressure changes and seismic risk, impacting CO2 storage potential.
Area of Science:
- Geophysics
- Subsurface fluid dynamics
- Tectonophysics
Background:
- Sealing faults act as impermeable barriers, defining subsurface pore-pressure domains.
- These faults are crucial for hydrocarbon traps and potential CO2 storage in depleted reservoirs.
- Previous assumptions suggested sealing faults solely compartmentalize pressure, but this study explores their dynamic behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between sealing faults and induced seismicity during hydraulic fracturing (HF).
- To understand the role of sealing faults in pore-pressure compartmentalization and seismic risk.
- To analyze the behavior of sealing faults under HF stress using numerical simulations.
Main Methods:
- Statistical analysis of induced seismicity distribution in relation to pore-pressure gradients.
- Interpretation of high pore-pressure gradient zones as sealing fault systems.
- Numerical simulation of hydraulic fracturing intersecting a fault, using rate-and-state friction rheology.
Main Results:
- Induced seismicity during HF shows a significant spatial correlation with high lateral pore-pressure gradients, interpreted as sealing faults.
- The largest seismic event, a 4.5 ML mainshock, occurred between two wells with a substantial pore-pressure contrast (~10 MPa).
- Numerical simulations of fault rupture align well with observed strike-slip faulting near HF wells.
Conclusions:
- Sealing faults exhibit previously unrecognized behaviors influencing induced seismicity.
- Understanding these fault behaviors is critical for assessing and mitigating seismic risk associated with subsurface activities.
- The findings have implications for the integrity of CO2 storage and resource extraction in low-permeability reservoirs.
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