Microseismic moment tensors: A path to understanding frac growth

Baig, Adam; Urbancic, Ted

doi:10.1190/1.3353729

Cited by 260 publications

(107 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…There has also been focus on determining moment tensor solutions for earthquakes induced by hydraulic fracture stimulation (Baig and Urbancic, 2010) and borehole injection in the reservoir at Soultz-sous-Forets, France, hot-dry-rock (HDR) geothermal site. Cuenot et al (2006) analyzed data from the 2003 hydraulic stimulation experiment and observed a higher proportion of the non-DC component for earthquakes near the injection well.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Analysis of Seismic Moment Tensor at The Geysers Geothermal Field, California

Boyd¹,

Dreger²,

Lai³

et al. 2015

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America

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The Geysers geothermal field is one of the most seismically active regions in northern California. Most of the events occur at shallow depths and are related to stress and hydrological perturbations due to energy production operations. To better understand the relationships between seismicity and operations, better source mechanism information is needed. Seismic moment tensors offer insight into the nature of equivalent forces causing the seismicity. Fifty-three M >3 events located at The Geysers geothermal field were selected from the University of California Berkeley Moment Tensor Catalog for analysis of seismic moment tensor solutions and associated uncertainties. Deviatoric and full moment tensor solutions were computed, and statistical tests were employed to assess solution stability, resolution, and significance. In this study, we examine several source models including double-couple (DC), pure isotropic (ISO; volumetric change), and volume-compensated linear vector dipole (CLVD) sources, as well as compound sources such as DC CLVD, DC ISO, and shear-tensile sources. In general, we find from a systematic approach toward characterizing uncertainties in moment tensor solutions that The Geysers earthquakes, as a population, deviate significantly from northern California seismicity in terms of apparent volumetric source terms and complexity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Analysis of Seismic Moment Tensor at The Geysers Geothermal Field, California

Boyd¹,

Dreger²,

Lai³

et al. 2015

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America

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“…[32]). Compared to earthquake seismology that successfully utilizes seismic moment tensor inversion, the good estimation of moment tensor during hydraulic fracturing operation, even with multiple monitoring wells, remain problematic [11].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microseismic Imaging of Hydraulically Induced-Fractures in Gas Reservoirs: A Case Study in Barnett Shale Gas Reservoir, Texas, USA

Abdulaziz¹

2013

OJG

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Microseismic technology has been proven to be a practical approach for in-situ monitoring of fracture growth during hydraulic fracture stimulations. Microseismic monitoring has rapidly evolved in acquisition methodology, data processing, and in this paper, we evaluate the progression of this technology with emphasis on their applications in Barnett shale gas reservoir. Microseismic data analysis indicates a direct proportion between microseismic moment magnitude and depth, yet no relation between microseismic activity and either injection rate or injection volume has been observed. However, large microseismic magnitudes have been recorded where hydraulic fracturing stimulation approaches a fault and therefore the geologic framework should be integrated in such programs. In addition, the geometry of fracture growth resulted by proppant interactions with naturally fractured formations follows unpredictable fashion due to redirecting the injection fluids along flow paths associated with the pre-existing fault network in the reservoir. While microseismic imaging is incredibly useful in revealing the fracture geometry and the way the fracture evolves, recently several concerns have been raised regarding the capability of microseismic data to provide the fracture dimensional parameters and the fracture mechanism that could provide detailed information for reservoir characterization.

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“…The majority of seismic events are not purely explosive (see e.g. Baig and Urbancic (2010)). The polarity of the direct P-wave depends on the take-off angle.…”

Section: Localization Of Different Source Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Baig and Urbancic (2010) or Rutledge and Phillips (2003)). The biggest challenge for stacking-based localization techniques is represented by a pure double-couple source, as the negative and positive polarities are balanced.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diffraction Stacking - The Role of Source Mechanisms

Zhebel¹,

Gajewski²,

Vanelle³

2014

Proceedings

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SUMMARYLocalization of seismic events provides us valuable information about structures activated by tectonic stresses, geothermal or volcanic activity, reservoir stimulation, and other subsurface activities. In the last few years automatic stacking-based localization techniques that do not require any picking of phases, have become popular and widely-used localization tools. Localization results obtained by such techniques are influenced by various factors. In this work we illustrate that source mechanisms directly influence the form and resolution of a resulting image function. For this purpose, two numerical examples are presented. The first considered source type is a so-called compensated linear vector dipole source, which is typical for geothermal and volcanic areas. As the most seismic events can be best characterized by a combination of explosive, double-couple (DC) and compensated linear vector dipole (CLVD) components, localization of such a source mechanism is also illustrated.

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Microseismic moment tensors: A path to understanding frac growth

Cited by 260 publications

References 5 publications

A Systematic Analysis of Seismic Moment Tensor at The Geysers Geothermal Field, California

A Systematic Analysis of Seismic Moment Tensor at The Geysers Geothermal Field, California

Microseismic Imaging of Hydraulically Induced-Fractures in Gas Reservoirs: A Case Study in Barnett Shale Gas Reservoir, Texas, USA

Diffraction Stacking - The Role of Source Mechanisms

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