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1 Induced Seismicity and Energy Technologies
Pages 23-36

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From page 23...
... . The earliest and probably most familiar documented example of an induced seismic event related to fluid injection is the activity that occurred in the Denver, Colorado, area in the 1960s in connection with liquid waste disposal at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal.
From page 24...
... In addition to energy technologies that are the topic of this report, the list also shows induced seismicity due to surface water reservoirs (dams) and other activities related to mining.a Event locations are plotted on global and U.S.
From page 25...
... File path: S:\Proposals\Publication\20120321_Robin\Figures\MXD\InducedSeismicity_US_Figure1.mxd; Date: 06/11/2012; User: Jereme Chandler, LCI Activity Mmax Oil/Gas Extraction < 3.0 Secondary Recovery 3.0 - 4.0 Wastewater Injection 4.0 - 5.0 Reservoir Induced 5.0 - 6.0 Geothermal 6.0 - 7.0 Hydraulic Fracturing (Shale Gas) Other >7.0 Figure 2  Locations of seismic events caused by or likely related to human activities within the coterminous United States and portions of Canada as documented in the technical literature.
From page 26...
... seismic activity is uncommon or historically nonexistent and energy development is ongoing, these seismic events, though small in scale, can be disturbing for the public and can raise concern about further seismic activity and its consequences. This report addresses induced seismicity that may be related specifically to certain kinds of energy development that involve fluid injection or withdrawal.
From page 27...
... The remainder of this chapter briefly reviews earthquakes and their measurement, introduces the four energy technologies that are the subject of this report, and presents several historical examples of induced seismic activity related to energy development. The significance of understanding and mitigating the effects of induced seismicity related to energy technologies has been recognized by other groups as well, both internationally and domestically.
From page 28...
... Some of the earthquakes were noticeable to local residents and exceeded M 3 and M 4. The earthquakes were eventually attributed to the underground injection of fluid using a deep well drilled on land known as the Rocky Mountain Arsenal approximately 6 miles northeast of downtown Denver.
From page 29...
... However, further analysis showed earthquakes triggered by fluid injection are not caused by lubrication of a fracture system but suggested instead that the earthquakes were caused by increasing the pressure of the existing fluid in the formation through high-pressure injection, which lowered the frictional resistance between rocks along an existing fault system; lowering the frictional resistance allowed the rocks to slide relative to each other. a Note: Throughout the report we cite the units presented in the original reference followed by a conversion in parentheses to U.S.
From page 30...
... , which is a scale preferred by seismologists because it is theoretically related to the amount of energy released by the Earth's crust. The common symbol used to indicate ­ oment magnitude is M.9 m The earthquake magnitude scale spans a truly immense range of energy releases.
From page 31...
... Induced seismicity may occur whenever conditions in the subsurface are altered in such a way that stresses acting on a preexisting fault reach the breaking point for slip. If stresses in a rock formation are near the critical stress for fault rupture, theory predicts and experience demonstrates that relatively modest changes of pore fluid pressures can induce seismicity.
From page 32...
... ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES AND INDUCED SEISMICITY Geothermal Energy Geothermal energy production captures the natural heat of the Earth to generate steam that can drive a turbine to produce electricity. Geothermal systems fall into one of three different categories: (1)
From page 33...
... The injection of fluid to facilitate oil and gas production, similar to fluid injection for geothermal systems, has the potential to generate induced seismic activity. To date, EOR has not been associated with induced seismicity, although felt seismic events have been documented in connection with waterflooding for secondary recovery.
From page 34...
... provides a thorough overview of seismicity induced by hydrocarbon production. Investigations of some of these cases have led to better understanding of the probable physical mechanisms of inducing seismic events and have allowed for the establishment of some of the most important criteria that may induce a felt seismic event, including the state of stress in the Earth's crust in the vicinity of the fluid injection or withdrawal; the presence, orientation, and physical properties of nearby faults; pore fluid pressure (pressure of fluids in the pores of the rocks at depth, hereafter referred to as pore pressure)
From page 35...
... While the vast majority of these events have intensities below that which can be felt by people living directly at the site of fluid injection or extraction, potential exists to produce significant seismic events that can be felt and cause damage and public concern. Examination of known examples of induced seismicity can aid in determining what the risks are for energy technologies.
From page 36...
... 1989. Induced seismic deformation in the Cogdell oil field of West Texas.


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