| Title | Disposal from in situ bitumen recovery induced the ML 5.6 Peace River earthquake |
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| Author | Schultz, R ; Woo,
J -U; Pepin, K; Ellsworth, W L; Zebkar, H; Segall, P; Gu, Y J; Samsonov, S |
| Source | Geophysical Research Letters vol. 50, issue 6, 2023 p. 1-10, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL102940  Open Access |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2023 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20230190 |
| Publisher | AGU |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; digital; on-line |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Alberta |
| NTS | 84C/02; 84C/03; 84C/06; 84C/07; 84C/10; 84C/11 |
| Area | Peace River |
| Lat/Long WENS | -117.5000 -116.5000 56.7500 56.0000 |
| Subjects | tectonics; bitumen; earthquakes; faults, slip |
| Illustrations | location maps; graphs; diagrams |
| Program | Canada Centre for Remote Sensing Optical Methods and Applications |
| Released | 2023 03 28 |
| Abstract | Earthquakes induced by human activities can impede the development of underground resources. Significant induced events (M5) have caused both economic and human losses. The recent ML 5.6 (MW 5.1) event
near Peace River, Alberta occurs in a region of in situ bitumen recovery. We find that 3.4 cm of ground deformation was caused by reverse fault slip (?29 cm), possibly related to Peace River Arch faulting. Events are located within the shallow
basement, nearby to significant wastewater injection into Paleozoic strata. We find a statistical relationship between earthquakes and injection operations. These events were likely related to the in situ bitumen development: dominantly from
wastewater disposal induced pore pressure increases, with smaller poroelastic contributions from bitumen recovery. The assessment of this earthquake as induced will likely have implications for future energy development, management, and
regulation-including carbon capture and blue hydrogen. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Earthquakes induced by human activities can impede the development of underground resources. Significant induced events have caused both economic and
human losses. The recent ML 5.6 event near Peace River, Alberta occurs in a region of in situ bitumen recovery. We find that 3.4 cm of ground deformation was caused by reverse fault slip, possibly related to Peace River Arch faulting. Events are
located within the shallow basement, nearby to significant wastewater injection into Paleozoic strata. We find a statistical relationship between earthquakes and injection operations. These events were likely related to the in situ bitumen
development: dominantly from wastewater disposal induced pore pressure increases, with smaller poroelastic contributions from bitumen recovery. The assessment of this earthquake as induced will likely have implications for future energy development,
management, and regulation-including carbon capture and blue hydrogen. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 332094 |
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