Passive Seismic Monitoring of Induced Seismicity: Fundamental Principles and Application to Energy Technologies

375 Pages·2018·37.406 MB·English

by  David W. Eaton

PassiveSeismicMonitoringofInducedSeismicity
FundamentalPrinciplesandApplicationtoEnergyTechnologies
The past few decades have witnessed remarkable growth in the application of passive
seismic monitoring to address a range of problems in geoscience and engineering from
large-scale tectonic studies to environmental investigations. Passive seismic methods are
increasingly being used for surveillance of massive, multi-stage hydraulic fracturing and
developmentofenhancedgeothermalsystems.Thetheoreticalframeworkandtechniques
usedinthisemergingareadrawonvariousestablishedfields,suchasearthquakeseismol-
ogy,explorationgeophysicsandrockmechanics.Basedonuniversityandindustrycourses
developed by the author, this book reviews all the relevant research and technology to
provide an introduction to the principles and applications of passive seismic monitoring.
Itintegratesup-to-datecasestudiesandinteractiveonlineexercises,makingitacompre-
hensive and accessible resource foradvanced students and researchers ingeophysics and
engineeringaswellasforindustrypractitioners.
DavidW.Eaton is Professor of Geophysics in the University of Calgary’s Department of
Geoscience, where he served as Department Head from 2007 to 2012. He is presently
co-director of the Microseismic Industry Consortium, a novel initiative dedicated to the
advancementofresearch,educationandtechnologicalinnovationsinmicroseismicmeth-
ods and their practical applications for resource development. His current research is
focusedonmicroseismicmonitoringandinducedseismicity,intraplateearthquakeswarms
andthelithosphere–asthenosphereboundarybeneathcontinents.
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“Itisnowwellestablishedthathumanactivitiesinthesubsurfacecreateinducedseismicity.
While large events can be extremely problematic from both a seismic hazard and opera-
tional safety perspective, smaller induced events, known as microseismic events, can tell
usagreatdealaboutchangesinthesubsurface.Eatonprovidesaclearandcomprehensive
descriptionofsuchseismicity,startingfromfirstprinciplesandthenprogressivelytaking
the reader through toreal examples and case studies.A focus ison seismicityassociated
withoilandgasexploitation,butthebookwillalsoappealtoscientistsinterestedinseis-
micity in a range of other settings (e.g., geothermal, mining, etc.). Eaton has crafted an
excellentseismologytextforstudentsandearthquakeseismologistsingeneral.”
–ProfessorMichaelKendall,UniversityofBristol
“PassiveSeismicMonitoringofInducedSeismicityisacomprehensivetextbookcovering
basic theoretical concepts of seismic and ancillary topics through to practical imple-
mentation in industrial settings. The book is an essential reference text on this topical
technology.”
–DrShawnMaxwell,IMaGE
“Thiscomprehensivetextisamuch-neededandtimelyoverviewoftopicsrelatedtoseis-
micmonitoringofinducedearthquakes.Itnotonlyprovidesathoroughtreatmentofhow
microseismicmonitoringisdoneandthedataareanalyzed,itprovidesavaluableoverview
ofhowandwhyinjection-inducedseismicityoccurs.”
–ProfessorMarkZoback,StanfordUniversity
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Passive Seismic Monitoring of
Induced Seismicity
Fundamental Principles and Application to
Energy Technologies
DAVID W. EATON
UniversityofCalgary
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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107145252
DOI:10.1017/9781316535547
©DavidW.Eaton2018
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Names:Eaton,DavidW.,1962–author.
Title:Passiveseismicmonitoringofinducedseismicity:
fundamentalprinciplesandapplicationtoenergytechnologies/
DavidW.Eaton,ProfessorandNSERC-ChevronIndustrialResearchChair,
DepartmentofGeoscience,UniversityofCalgary.
Description:Cambridge,UnitedKingdom;NewYork,NY:
CambridgeUniversityPress,2018.|Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2017045854|ISBN9781107145252(hardback)|
ISBN1107145252(hardback)
Subjects:LCSH:Inducedseismicity.|Seismology.
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Contents
Preface pageix
ListofSymbols xi
PartI FundamentalsofPassiveSeismicMonitoring 1
1 ConstitutiveRelationsandElasticDeformation 3
1.1 StressandStrain 3
1.2 LinearElasticity 8
1.3 ElasticAnisotropy 11
1.4 EffectiveMedia 16
1.4.1 Voigt–Reuss–HillAveraging 16
1.4.2 Hashin–ShtrikmanExtremalBounds 17
1.4.3 BackusAveraging 18
1.4.4 FracturedMedia 19
1.5 Poroelasticity 21
1.5.1 Fluid-SubstitutionCalculations 22
1.5.2 Pore-PressureDiffusion 23
1.5.3 FluidFlow 24
1.6 Summary 25
1.7 SuggestionsforFurtherReading 26
1.8 Problems 26
2 FailureCriteriaandAnelasticDeformation 29
2.1 BrittleStructuresinRock 29
2.1.1 StressFieldNearaFracture 31
2.2 EffectiveStressandBrittle-FailureCriteria 33
2.2.1 Mohr–CoulombCriterion 36
2.2.2 GriffithCriterion 37
2.2.3 OtherBrittle-FailureCriteria 38
2.3 FrictionalSlidingonaFault 40
2.3.1 Rate–StateFriction 42
2.4 EarthquakeCycleandStressDrop 43
2.5 DuctileDeformation 46
2.6 Summary 48
2.7 SuggestionsforFurtherReading 48
2.8 Problems 49
v
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vi Contents
3 SeismicWavesandSources 51
3.1 EquationsofMotion 51
3.2 WaveSolutions 53
3.2.1 BodyWaves 53
3.2.2 SurfaceWaves 56
3.2.3 Green’sFunctionsandGeometricalSpreading 61
3.2.4 WaveAmplitudePartitioningatInterfaces 63
3.3 EffectsofAnisotropy 66
3.3.1 ThomsenParametersforTIMedia 68
3.4 AnelasticAttenuation 69
3.5 SeismicSources 72
3.5.1 MomentTensors 72
3.5.2 Double-CoupleSources 75
3.5.3 Non-Double-CoupleSources 79
3.6 MagnitudeScales 82
3.7 SourceScalingandSpectralModels 85
3.8 MagnitudeDistributions 88
3.9 Aftershocks 90
3.10 Summary 91
3.11 SuggestionsforFurtherReading 93
3.12 Problems 93
4 StressMeasurementandHydraulicFracturing 95
4.1 HowSubsurfaceStressIsDetermined 95
4.1.1 Focal-MechanismInversion 96
4.1.2 Crossed-DipoleSonicLogs 97
4.1.3 WellboreFailureMechanisms 97
4.1.4 DiagnosticFracture-InjectionTests 100
4.1.5 Overcoring 102
4.1.6 SimplifiedMathematicalModels 103
4.2 HydraulicFracturing 106
4.2.1 CompletionMethodsandTreatmentStrategies 111
4.3 NumericalModelsofHydraulicFractures 114
4.4 FlowbackandFlowRegimes 121
4.5 Summary 123
4.6 SuggestionsforFurtherReading 124
4.7 Problems 124
PartII ApplicationsofPassiveSeismicMonitoring 127
5 Passive-SeismicDataAcquisition 129
5.1 ABriefHistoryofMicroseismicMonitoring 131
5.2 SensorConfigurations 134
5.2.1 Deep-DownholeArrays 134
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vii Contents
5.2.2 SurfaceandShallow-WellArrays 138
5.2.3 RegionalSeismographNetworks 141
5.3 BackgroundModelConstructionandCalibration 143
5.3.1 CalibrationSources 144
5.4 SurveyDesignConsiderations 146
5.4.1 SensorTypes 146
5.4.2 Noise 148
5.5 SurveyDesignOptimization 149
5.6 Summary 154
5.7 SuggestionsforFurtherReading 156
5.8 Problems 156
6 DownholeMicroseismicProcessing 158
6.1 InputData 160
6.2 CoordinateSystemsandTransformations 161
6.3 EventDetectionandArrival-TimePicking 165
6.3.1 SingleReceiverMethods 166
6.3.2 Multi-ReceiverMethods 169
6.3.3 WavefieldSeparation 172
6.3.4 MatchedFilteringandSubspaceDetection 173
6.4 HypocentreEstimation 179
6.5 BackgroundModelDetermination 182
6.6 SourceCharacterization 185
6.7 Summary 188
6.8 SuggestionsforFurtherReading 188
6.9 Problems 189
7 SurfaceandShallow-ArrayMicroseismicProcessing 190
7.1 TheFree-SurfaceEffectandWaveAmplification 192
7.2 BeamformingandVespagrams 194
7.3 BasicProcessingWorkflow 195
7.4 ElasticImaging 197
7.4.1 ImagingCondition 201
7.4.2 ResolutionandUncertainty 202
7.5 CaseExamples 203
7.6 Summary 205
7.7 SuggestionsforFurtherReading 208
7.8 Problems 208
8 MicroseismicInterpretation 209
8.1 InterpretationWorkflow 210
8.2 DataPreconditioning 211
8.3 EventAttributes 212
8.4 ClusteringAnalysis 213
8.5 InterpretationMethods 216
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viii Contents
8.5.1 EstimatedStimulatedVolume 216
8.5.2 Frequency–MagnitudeDistributionsandFractalDimension 221
8.5.3 MicroseismicFaciesAnalysis 224
8.6 SourceMechanismStudies 226
8.6.1 WaveformModelling 230
8.7 Applications 233
8.8 InterpretationPitfalls 237
8.9 Summary 238
8.10 SuggestionsforFurtherReading 238
8.11 Problems 239
9 InducedSeismicity 241
9.1 Background 241
9.1.1 PioneeringStudies 242
9.1.2 DistinguishingBetweenNaturalandInducedSeismicity 243
9.1.3 ActivationMechanisms 245
9.2 ToolsoftheTrade 250
9.2.1 EventDetection 252
9.2.2 HypocentreEstimation 254
9.2.3 Moment–TensorInversion 257
9.3 CaseStudies 258
9.3.1 EngineeredGeothermalSystems(EGS) 259
9.3.2 SaltwaterDisposal(SWD) 264
9.3.3 HydraulicFracturing(HF)InducedSeismicity 268
9.4 TrafficLightSystems 272
9.5 ProbabilisticSeismicHazardAssessment(PSHA) 274
9.6 NaturalAnalogsofInjection-InducedEarthquakes 278
9.7 Summary 278
9.8 SuggestionsforFurtherReading 280
9.9 Problems 280
AppendixA Glossary 281
AppendixB Signal-ProcessingEssentials 292
AppendixC DataFormats 299
References 302
Index 340
Colourplatessectioncanbefoundbetweenpages178and179
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Preface
The past few decades have witnessed remarkable growth in the application of passive
seismic monitoring to address a range of problems in geoscience and engineering, from
large-scale tectonic studies to environmental investigations. Microseismic methods are a
prime example of a passive-seismic approach applied to the study of brittle deformation
in rocks. These methods are increasingly being used for in situ monitoring of fracture
processes, including hydraulic-fracture stimulation of tight reservoirs, development of
enhanced geothermal systems, assessment of caprock integrity for CO sequestration,
2
life-cycle reservoir monitoring for heavy-oil production and monitoring of mining oper-
ations. The theoretical framework and techniques used in this emerging discipline draw
from various established fields, such as earthquake seismology, exploration geophysics
androckmechanics.Theaimofthisbookistosynthesizeresearchandtechnologywithin
thistopic,whichatpresentiswidelyscatteredacrossdisparatescientificandengineering
communitiesandpublishedindiscipline-specificjournalsandconferenceproceedings.
This book is grounded in seismology, but draws from related disciplines including
reservoir engineering and rock-, fracture-, earthquake-, continuum- and geo-mechanics.
It provides an introduction to the principles and applications of microseismic monitor-
ingandisaimedatundergraduateandgraduatestudentsingeophysicsorengineering,as
well as working geoscience professionals. The applications of microseismic methods are
myriadandincludesurveillanceofhydraulicstimulationforunconventionalhydrocarbon
developmentandenhancedgeothermalsystems,monitoringandverificationoflong-term
undergroundstoragesuchasCO ,andensuringthesafetyofworkersindeepunderground
2
mines.Thetheoreticalunderpinningsofpassive-seismicmonitoringincludemathematical
aspectsofseismology,mechanicsandsignalprocessing,soitisassumedthatreaderswill
haveasuitablebackgroundthatincludesmathematicsandphysicsatthejuniorundergradu-
atelevel.Astrongfundamentalknowledgeofthesetopicsiskeytoachievingaquantitative
understandingoftheimportantindustrialapplications.
The interdisciplinary nature of passive-seismic monitoring means that mathematical
expressionsarerifewithconflictingnotationcomingfromestablishedusage,acrossdiffer-
entdisciplines,ofidenticalsymbolswithutterlydifferentmeanings.Thishasnecessitateda
ratherlargedoseofcreativityintheuseofsubscriptsandmodifiers,inordertodefineaset
ofuniquesymbolsforparametersandexpressionsthatareusedrepeatedly.Nevertheless,
somerepetitionofcommonsymbolsisvirtuallyunavoidable,wherethemeaningiscontext
sensitive.Forexample,itiscontextuallyclear,thoughoutthisbook,whetherE isusedto
representenergyorYoung’smodulus.Similarly,specificterminologyhasevolvedwithin
differentdisciplinesthatcan,attimes,bevirtuallyincomprehensibletothoseoutsidethat
field. In an effort to reduce this barrier to understanding, a Glossary is included here as
ix
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x Preface
AppendixA.Throughoutthetext,newterms(manyofwhichappearintheGlossary)are
introducedusingitalics.
With a few exceptions, SI units are used in this book, although this usage may seem
slightly foreign to those who are accustomed to the use of units of measure such as
“barrels” and “psi.” One exception to the use of SI units is permeability, for which the
non-standard unit of Darcies ismore convenient. The following listof Symbols specifies
theunits,asapplicable,forrepeatedlyusedquantities.
This book is largely based on notes and interactive online materials from a graduate
coursethatIhavedeveloped,entitledIntroductiontoMicroseismicMethods.Whiledeliv-
ering this course, guest speakers, students and industry participants have broadened my
knowledge horizons considerably. I am deeply indebted to all, especially guest speakers
whohavegraciouslycontributedtheirexpertise.Inaddition,thiscoursehasbeenenergized
byresearchandacademic–industryinteractionsthatoccurredaspartoftheMicroseismic
IndustryConsortium.Anumberoffielddatasetshavebeenacquiredsince2011,underthe
auspicesoftheMicroseismicIndustryConsortium;thesefieldexperimentsprovideddata
examplesthatareusedthroughoutthisbook.Tomyknowledge,thislevelofuniversity-led
fielddataacquisitionisunparalleled.Althoughithaspresenteddauntingchallenges,these
fieldactivitieshaveprovidedimportantinsights,hands-onexperienceanduniquetraining
opportunitiesforstudentsandpostdoctoralresearchers.
There are numerous individuals whom I wish to thank for their help in preparing this
book.Colleaguesfromacademiaandindustryaresincerelythankedforprovidingreviews
and critical feedback on sections of this book, including Ed Krebes, Jan Dettmer, Jeff
Priest, Ron Wong, Shawn Maxwell, Peter Duncan, Gail Atkinson, Ryan Shultz, Yajing
Liu, Hersh Gilbert, Chris Clarkson and Hadi Ghofrani. Current and former students and
postdoctoralresearchersalsocontributedmanyideasandsuggestions,includinghelpwith
preparing figures and proofreading. I am particularly appreciative of contributions from
NadineIgonin,JubranAkram,HongliangZhang,SuzieJia,MeganZecevic,ThomasEyre,
Kim Pike, Anton Biryukov and Ron Weir. In addition, I am very grateful to Sarah Reid,
whoprovidedtirelessandskilledassistancewithfigures.MirkovanderBaanissincerely
thankedforhiscollegialpartnershipintheMicroseismicIndustryConsortium.Finally,my
heartfeltthanksgotomywife,Pam,whoenduredmonthsofmyirrationalworkhoursand
distractionwhilethisbookwastakingshape.
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