Characterizing geologic formations near a borehole is critically important for the energy and environmental industry. Better understanding anisotropic properties of subsurface formations in a geothermal field is essential for effective fracture stimulation to extract geothermal energy from enhanced geothermal systems. We apply a shear-wave splitting analysis method, based on eigenvector rotation, to six induced micro-earthquakes recorded using a 3-component geophone array deployed in a borehole at the Utah FORGE (Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy) site. We determine that the faster S1-wave is along the radial direction at about an azimuth of E12.7oS, while the slower S2-wave is in the tangential direction perpendicular to that of S1-wave. This radial direction is consistent with major-semi axis orientation of induced micro-earthquake distribution. The averaged S-wave splitting rate (SSR) is 0.83%, indicating the average S1-wave velocity is faster than that of S2-wave by 0.83%. Average SSR values for receivers in the sedimentary and granite rocks are 0.91% and 0.72%, respectively, implying that the natural fracture density in the sedimentary rock is higher than that in the granite rocks. We can apply the shear-wave splitting analysis method to induced micro-earthquake data during fracture stimulation for time-lapse monitoring of EGS reservoirs.
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SEG/AAPG International Meeting for Applied Geoscience & Energy
August 28–September 1, 2022
Houston, Texas, USA
Anisotropic properties in the sedimentary and granite rocks at the Utah FORGE geothermal site revealed by shear-wave splitting of 3-component borehole microseismic data
Yingping Li;
Yingping Li
BlueSkyDas LLC and University of Houston
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Lianjie Huang;
Lianjie Huang
Los Alamos National Laboratory
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Paper presented at the SEG/AAPG International Meeting for Applied Geoscience & Energy, Houston, Texas, USA, August 2022.
Paper Number:
SEG-2022-3750065
Published:
November 01 2022
Citation
Li, Yingping, Li, David, Huang, Lianjie, Zheng, Yingcai, Wannamaker, Philip, and Joseph Moore. "Anisotropic properties in the sedimentary and granite rocks at the Utah FORGE geothermal site revealed by shear-wave splitting of 3-component borehole microseismic data." Paper presented at the SEG/AAPG International Meeting for Applied Geoscience & Energy, Houston, Texas, USA, August 2022. doi: https://doi.org/10.1190/image2022-3750065.1
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