Summary

We present a case study of detailed source mechanism inversion in microseismic dataset from hydraulic fracturing of a shale gas play. This study uses surface monitoring array to invert shear and non-shear parts of the source mechanisms from 75 individual events to characterize relationship between hydraulic fracture and induced seismicity. We observe source mechanisms dominated by shear failure with dip-slip and strike-slip sense of motion. We propose a new model explaining source mechanisms induced by hydraulic fracturing based on bedding plane slippage.

Keywords:
shear failure, inverted source mechanism, inversion, reservoir characterization, real data, microseismic event, mechanism, seg houston 2013, hydraulic fracturing, amplitude
Subjects:
Hydraulic Fracturing, Reservoir Characterization, Seismic processing and interpretation
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2013. Society of Exploration Geophysicists
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