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f Quantitative understanding of induced microseismicity
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, 75th EAGE Conference & Exhibition - Workshops, Jun 2013, cp-349-00136
- ISBN: 978-90-73834-49-1
Abstract
Stimulation of rocks by borehole fluid injections belong to a standard development practice of hydrocarbon and geothermal reservoirs. Production of heavy oil and of shale oil and gas, CO2 sequestrations, enhanced recovery of oil, developments of enhanced geothermal geothermic systems are branches that require broad applications of this technology. The fact that fluid injection causes seismicity has been well-established for several decades. Observations and modelling show that seismicity is triggered by different processes ranging from linear pore pressure diffusion to non-linear fluid impact onto rocks leading to their hydraulic fracturing and strong changes of their structure and permeability. I show that understanding and monitoring of fluid-induced seismicity can be used for several applications leading to an integrated reservoir characterization and modelling. Microseismicity contains qantitative information on rock-physics like the virgin and stimulated permeability. It provides a possibility of a high-resolution reflection imaging of the reservoir structure. The model of non-linear pressure diffusion helps to understand fracturing of shale. Spatio-temporal features of microseismicity is indicative for the pressure-dependence of the rock permeability. Understanding of spatio-temporal evolution of microseismic clouds can help to control the quality of microseismic locations. Finally, important seismic-hazard related aspects can be constrained using seismicity-derived parameters like the seismogenic index and the geometric features of microseismc clouds. No extended abstract available.