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TitleSpatiotemporal changes in seismic velocity associated with hydraulic fracturing-induced earthquakes near Fox Creek, Alberta, Canada
 
AuthorOjo, A OORCID logo; Kao, HORCID logo; Visser, R; Goerzen, C
SourceJournal of Petroleum Science & Engineering vol. 208, pt. A, 109390, 2021 p. 1-9, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2021.109390 Open Access logo Open Access
Image
Year2021
Alt SeriesNatural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20210223
PublisherElsevier
Documentserial
Lang.English
Mediapaper; on-line; digital
File formatpdf; html
ProvinceAlberta
NTS83K/06
AreaFox Creek
Lat/Long WENS-117.3000 -117.1750 54.3800 54.3000
Subjectsgeophysics; fossil fuels; Economics and Industry; Science and Technology; Nature and Environment; petroleum industry; hydrocarbon recovery; hydraulic fracturing; wells; seismology; seismicity; seismic risk; earthquakes; earthquake risk; seismic velocities; seismological network; seismic arrays; deformation; pore pressures; reservoir rocks; bedrock geology; basement geology; Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin; Wabamun Formation; Ireton Formation; Beaverhill Lake Formation
Illustrationslocation maps; plots; geoscientific sketch maps; time series; profiles; bar graphs
ProgramEnvironmental Geoscience Shale Gas - induced seismicity
Released2021 08 17
AbstractTo characterize the subsurface geomechanical response to hydraulic fracturing (HF) activities, we study the spatiotemporal changes of seismic velocity during the completion of four HF wells in the Fox Creek area, Alberta, Canada. We estimate temporal velocity changes (dv/v) from ambient seismic noise recorded during the Tony Creek Dual Microseismic Experiment (ToC2ME) by comparing a 5-day stacked noise correlation function with a reference noise correlation function stacked over the deployment period. In the frequency band (0.1-0.4 Hz) most sensitive to the injection depths (~3.4 km), we observe daily dv/v that revealed alternating gradual velocity decreases and increases with magnitudes in the range of ±0.9%. We found a strong temporal correlation between the onset of velocity decreases and periods of intense seismicity, suggesting that the observed dv/v reductions are likely caused by stress-induced subsurface deformation due to elevated pore pressures, increased crack density, and ground shaking. A period of dv/v increase observed between the beginning and end of different well stimulation is attributed to crustal healing. Comparing the dv/v time series with injection parameters, we observed a 272.66% increase in induced seismicity and 50% more reduction in dv/v during the second injection phase that are correlated with 90.53%, 169.64%, and 4.34% increase in the injection volume, rate, and pressure, respectively. Our study provides valuable new information on the changes in reservoir elastic properties within the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It also demonstrates that coda wave interferometry using data from dense seismic arrays near injection sites can be an additional tool for monitoring hydraulic fracturing operations.
Summary(Plain Language Summary, not published)
We study the spatiotemporal changes of seismic velocity during the completion of four hydraulic fracturing (HF) operations in the Fox Creek area, Alberta, Canada. Temporal velocity changes (dv/v) are estimated from ambient seismic noise recorded by a dense local seismograph array. We observe daily dv/v that revealed alternating gradual velocity decreases and increases with magnitudes in the range of ±0.9%. We found a strong temporal correlation between the onset of velocity decreases and periods of intense seismicity, suggesting that the observed dv/v reductions are likely caused by stress-induced subsurface deformation due to elevated pore pressures, increased crack density, and ground shaking. A period of dv/v increase observed between the beginning and end of different well stimulation is attributed to crustal healing. Our study provides valuable new information on the changes in reservoir elastic properties within the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It also demonstrates that coda wave interferometry using data from dense seismic arrays near injection sites can be an additional tool for monitoring hydraulic fracturing operations.
GEOSCAN ID328817

 
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