Coupled poroelastic modelling of hydraulic fracturing-induced seismicity: Implications for understanding the post shut-in ML 2.9 earthquake at the Preston New Road, UK

Abstract

Hydraulic fracturing has proved to be an effective technique to commercially exploit oil and gas resources from low-permeability reservoirs that are otherwise considered uneconomical. This technique involves the pumping of pressurized fluids into the subsurface to create a fracture network that acts as a permeable channel to increase the production of hydrocarbons from low-permeability formations. However, hydraulic fracturing operations in some formations have faced major challenges in terms of induced seismicity (Atkinson et al., 2020;Schultz et al., 2020). High pressurized fluids have the potential to activate pre-existing fractures/faults, either directly or indirectly, which results in induced seismicity, with moderate-size earthquakes that have been felt at the surface. Regulators have responded to induced seismicity concerns by imposing Traffic Light System (TLS) mitigation