An Investigation of Seismicity Induced by Hydraulic Fracturing in the Sichuan Basin of China Based on Data from a Temporary Seismic Network

Lingyuan, Meng; McGarr, A.; Zhou, Longquan; Yang, Zang

doi:10.1785/0120180310

Cited by 72 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Starting in 2014, felt earthquakes have increased abnormally in the southern Sichuan Basin near the shale gas production wells. Recent studies indicate that hydraulic fracturing is most likely responsible for these earthquakes (Lei et al, 2017;Lei et al, 2019;Meng et al, 2019). However, these studies use the earthquake data from sparse regional seismic network, which has less capability in detecting small-magnitude earthquakes and relatively larger errors in the earthquake locations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydraulic Fracturing Induced Seismicity in the Southern Sichuan Basin Due to Fluid Diffusion Inferred From Seismic and Injection Data Analysis

Tan

Zhang

et al. 2020

Geophysical Research Letters

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In the southern Sichuan Basin, China, the recent increase in the seismic activity has been suspected to be related to hydraulic fracturing stimulation for producing the shale gas. In this study, we used the monitoring data from a local seismic network within the shale gas blocks to study the earthquakes near the shale gas production wells that have detailed injection data. Comparison of the timing of earthquakes and stimulation schedule of the studied well pads indicates an apparent correlation between the seismic activity and hydraulic fracturing. The results of seismic velocity tomography reveal that the reactivation of preexisting faults due to fluid diffusion is the primary cause of the observed earthquakes. Focal mechanism analysis combined with geomechanical modeling indicates that the increased pore pressures resulted from hydraulic fracturing are sufficient to trigger seismic slip on the faults.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydraulic Fracturing Induced Seismicity in the Southern Sichuan Basin Due to Fluid Diffusion Inferred From Seismic and Injection Data Analysis

Tan

Zhang

et al. 2020

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…In the Sichuan Basin of China, both long‐term injections (of durations ranging from a few years to several tens of years) for disposal of wastewater (Lei XL et al, , , Zhang ZW et al, ) and for deep‐well salt mining (Ruan X et al, , Sun XL et al, ), and short‐term injections (of several months’ duration) for shale gas hydraulic fracturing (HF) (Lei XL et al, , , Meng LY et al, ), have caused palpable induced seismicity, resulting in sizable earthquakes up to M 5.7. Similar to other sites (Atkinson et al, ), a high level of HF‐induced seismicity and moderate magnitude earthquakes have been limited to some sites in the Sichuan Basin.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar to other sites (Atkinson et al, ), a high level of HF‐induced seismicity and moderate magnitude earthquakes have been limited to some sites in the Sichuan Basin. Among these several injection sites, the long‐term injection into a deep well in the Changning Shuanghe salt mine (Ruan X et al, , Sun XL et al, ) and HF in the Changning Shangluo shale gas block (Lei XL et al, , , Meng LX et al, ) have demonstrated the highest level of induced seismicity (Figures –). Following the M 5.7 Xingwen earthquake on 18 Dec. 2018, which appears to have been induced by HF activities, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck a wide region centered on Shuanghe Town, Changning County, late at night on 17 June 2019.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Possible link between long-term and short-term water injections and earthquakes in salt mine and shale gas site in Changning, south Sichuan Basin, China

Lei

Wang

2019

Earth and Planetary Physics

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Late at night on 17 June 2019, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Shuanghe Town and its surrounding area in Changning County, Sichuan, China, becoming the largest earthquake recorded within the southern Sichuan Basin. A series of earthquakes with magnitudes up to 5.6 occurred during a short period after the mainshock, and we thus refer to these earthquakes as the Changning M6 earthquake sequence (or swarm). The mainshock was located very close to a salt mine, into which for ~3 decades fresh water had been extensively injected through several wells at a depth of 2.7–3 km. It was also near (within ~15 km) the epicenter of the 18 December 2018 M5.7 Xingwen earthquake, which is thought to have been induced by shale gas hydraulic fracturing (HF), prompting questions about the possible involvement of industrial activities in the M6 sequence. Following previous studies, this paper focuses on the relationship between injection and seismicity in the Shuanghe salt field and its adjacent Shangluo shale gas block. Except for a period of serious water loss after the start of cross‐well injection in 2005–2006, the frequency of earthquakes shows a slightly increasing tendency. Overall, there is a good correlation between the event rate in the Shuanghe area and the loss of injected water. More than 400 M ≥ 3 earthquakes, including 40 M ≥ 4 and 5 M ≥ 5 events, had been observed by the end of August 2019. Meanwhile, in the Shangluo area, seismicity has increased during drilling and HF operations (mostly in vertical wells) since about 2009, and dramatically since the end of 2014, coincident with the start of systematic HF in the area. The event rate shows a progressively increasing background with some fluctuations, paralleling the increase in HF operations. More than 700 M ≥ 3 earthquakes, including 10 M ≥ 4 and 3 M ≥ 5 in spatially and temporally clustered seismic events, are correlated closely with active fracturing platforms. Well‐resolved centroid moment tensor results for M ≥ 4 earthquakes were shown to occur at very shallow depths around shale formations with active HF, in agreement with some of the clusters, which occurred within the coverage area of temporary or new permanent monitoring stations and thus have been precisely located. After the Xingwen M5.7 earthquake, seismic activity in the salt well area increased significantly. The Xingwen earthquake may have created a unidirectional rupture to the NNW, with an end point close to the NW‐trending fault of the Shuanghe earthquake. Thus, a fault in the Changning anticline might have terminated the fault rupture of the Xingwen earthquake, possibly giving the Xingwen earthquake a role in promoting the Changning M6 event.

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“…In the Sichuan Basin, such medium‐strong earthquakes often occur as swarms; this phenomenon is especially prominent around the Changning–Gongxian area in southeast Sichuan (Figure 1a). Studies of seismicity characteristics and seismogenic mechanisms in the study region have been carried out for many years and have made significant progress (Ruan X et al, 2008; Long F et al, 2010; Zhu H and He C, 2014; Gong Y et al, 2015; Wu P et al, 2017; Sun XL et al, 2017; Meng LY et al, 2019; Lei XL et al, 2017, 2019). Most of these studies have tried to seek the cause of the region’s earthquake swarms by statistical comparison and analyses of different phenomena.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three dimensional velocity structure and accurate earthquake location in Changning–Gongxian area of southeast Sichuan

Feng

Zhang

et al. 2020

Earth and Planetary Physics

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In order to understand the crustal structure and tectonic background of the Changning–Gongxiang area, southeastern Sichuan Province, where a series of moderate‐to‐strong earthquakes occurred in recent years, we utilized the seismic phase data both from a local dense array and from the regional seismic networks; we used the tomoDD program to invert for the high‐resolution three‐dimensional velocity structure within the depth range of 0–10 km and for accurate hypocentral locations in this area. We analyzed the seismogenic structures for the events of XingwenM5.7 in 2018 and Gongxian M5.3 and Changning M6.0 in 2019. The results show that: (1) widespread lateral inhomogeneity exists in the velocity structure of the study area, and the location of the velocity anomaly is largely consistent with known structures. In the range of distinguishable depth, the inhomogeneity decreases with increasing depth, and the velocity structure anomalies in some areas are continuous in depth; (2) earthquakes occurred in clusters, showing the characteristics of zonal folding trends in the NW‐SE and NE‐SW directions; the focal depth in the area is generally shallow in both the sedimentary cap and the crystalline basement. The seismogenic structures of small earthquake clusters are different in size and occurrence in different sections, and the clusters occurred mostly in regions with high P‐ or S‐wave velocities; (3) synthesis of a variety of data suggests that the seismogenic structures of the Xingwen M5.7 and Changning M6.0 earthquakes are associated with slip faults that trend NW‐SE in, respectively, the south wing and the axis of the Changning–Shuanghe anticline, while that of the GongxianM5.3 earthquake is associated with thrust faults that trend N‐S in the Jianwu syncline region. The dynamic sources of the three earthquakes are all from the SE pushing of the Qinghai–Tibet block on the Sichuan basin; (4) the risk of future strong earthquakes in this area must be reevaluated in light of the facts (a) that in recent years, moderate‐to‐strong earthquake swarms have occurred frequently in southeast Sichuan; (b) that the complex structural area exhibits the easy‐to‐trigger characteristic, and (c) that the small‐scale faults in this area are characterized by the phenomenon of stress “lock and release”.

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An Investigation of Seismicity Induced by Hydraulic Fracturing in the Sichuan Basin of China Based on Data from a Temporary Seismic Network

Cited by 72 publications

References 21 publications

Hydraulic Fracturing Induced Seismicity in the Southern Sichuan Basin Due to Fluid Diffusion Inferred From Seismic and Injection Data Analysis

Hydraulic Fracturing Induced Seismicity in the Southern Sichuan Basin Due to Fluid Diffusion Inferred From Seismic and Injection Data Analysis

Possible link between long-term and short-term water injections and earthquakes in salt mine and shale gas site in Changning, south Sichuan Basin, China

Three dimensional velocity structure and accurate earthquake location in Changning–Gongxian area of southeast Sichuan

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