The study of fault slip in response to fluid injection offers a means to understand the complex hydromechanical behavior of shale gas and oil reservoir systems during hydraulic fracturing operations, together with the induced seismicity, and corresponding mitigation measures, arising from such events. In this paper, a series of numerical simulations are performed to investigate the relationship between hydraulic fracturing (i.e. fluid injection) and the response of a naturally fractured rock mass to transient fluid pressures. The analysis is carried out using the discontinuum-based distinct-element program UDEC assuming a fracture flow system. The conceptual reservoir model consists of a critically stressed fault plane and the surrounding rock mass containing planes of weakness, for which a hydraulic fracture is numerically simulated and the response modeled using a transient, coupled hydro-mechanical solution. The results demonstrate the influence of fluid diffusion generated by the fracing fluid after shut-in on the triggering of fault slip. The simulation is then used to interpret the associated seismic events and their relationship to the injections and shut-in pressures, and to estimate the maximum magnitude of the induced seismic event.
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ISRM International Conference for Effective and Sustainable Hydraulic Fracturing
May 20–22, 2013
Brisbane, Australia
A Numerical Investigation of Fault Slip Triggered by Hydraulic Fracturing
Neda Zangeneh;
Neda Zangeneh
University of British Columbia
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Erik Eberhardt;
Erik Eberhardt
University of British Columbia
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R. Marc Bustin;
R. Marc Bustin
University of British Columbia
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Amanda Bustin
Amanda Bustin
University of British Columbia
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Paper presented at the ISRM International Conference for Effective and Sustainable Hydraulic Fracturing, Brisbane, Australia, May 2013.
Paper Number:
ISRM-ICHF-2013-051
Published:
May 20 2013
Citation
Zangeneh, Neda, Eberhardt, Erik, Bustin, R. Marc, and Amanda Bustin. "A Numerical Investigation of Fault Slip Triggered by Hydraulic Fracturing." Paper presented at the ISRM International Conference for Effective and Sustainable Hydraulic Fracturing, Brisbane, Australia, May 2013.
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