Induced Seismicity and Recent Advances in Hydraulic Fracturing Diagnostics

Induced seismicity refers to seismic events that are a result of human activity. There are many different ways in which human activity can induce seismicity including geothermal operations, reservoir impoundment (water behind dams), wastewater injections, and oil and gas operations such as hydraulic fracturing. Induced seismicity has become an important topic for the oil and gas industry. This webinar will discuss topics crucial to understanding the cause of, and characterization of, induced seismicity. Methods to evaluate and predict the potential for induced seismicity will be highlighted, including the introduction of new hydraulic fracturing diagnostics which may assist in the identification of seismic potential due to local geological features and/or completion operational procedures.

The first speaker will be Dr. Michael Brudzinski, Department of Geology and Environmental Science at Miami University. Dr. Brudzinski will start with an overview of the industrial activities that may induce seismicity. He will then focus on the two processes most applicable to the oil and gas extraction industry: produced water disposal/injection and hydraulic fracturing. The physical mechanisms which cause seismicity and methods for characterizing the severity of seismic events will be covered in detail. Examples of commercial monitoring methods will be provided along with a brief comments on induced seismicity related regulations.

The second speaker will be Ms. Mary Van Domelen, Senior Completions Advisor, Well Data Labs. Ms. Van Domelen will highlight recent advances in hydraulic fracturing diagnostics which may be used to predict the potential for, and possibly minimize, induced seismicity. The first technology is Sealed Wellbore Pressure Monitoring (SWPM). Case studies demonstrating the use of SWPM to validate an improved fluid design and to detect faults will be provided. Ms. Van Domelen will then examine a new completion process, Simul-frac, to determine if the claims of increased operational efficiency for simul-frac compared to zipper fracturing are true. More importantly, it will be shown that it is possible to quickly and accurately quantify some of the key fracturing parameters related to induced seismicity, even in the presence of multiple simultaneous operations.

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