Dynamics of fault activation by hydraulic fracturing: Insights from new technologies

水力压裂激活断层的动力学：新技术的见解

• 批准号: 548576-2019
• 负责人: Eaton, David
• 金额: $ 25.5万
• 依托单位: University of Calgary
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Alliance Grants
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=721051
• 关键词: Dynamics; fault; activation; hydraulic; fracturing

Recent induced earthquakes (i.e. those attributed to human activities) - such as a moderate magnitude 4.5 event near Fort St. John, BC on 30 November, 2018 - provide timely reminders of the potential to trigger felt seismicity during hydraulic fracturing operations. Science-informed strategies to manage induced-seismicity risks are hindered by critical knowledge gaps, including: i) understanding which pre-existing faults are prone to induced seismicity; ii) characterizing the role of slow (aseismic) fault slip in generating earthquakes; iii) calibration of realistic numerical simulations using field observations; and iv) spatial and temporal variability in earthquake-induced ground motions. Technological developments, including advancements in observational networks, Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS), advanced methods to create seismicity catalogs and physics-informed machine learning and visual analytics, make these areas of application ripe for advancement that will benefit the Canadian public, regulators and industry. This 3-year research program will combine diverse scientific expertise of a team of researchers at the University of Calgary together with exceptional datasets and experience of a value-chain partnership including 5 Canadian oil and gas companies, 2 high-tech service providers and Geoscience BC. It will thereby create a world-class training environment for 13 highly qualified personnel, including 7 postdoctoral researchers and 6 MSc students, who will be positioned to take on technical leadership roles within academia, government and industry. By identifying and mapping critically stressed faults and understanding their impact on hydrocarbon production, technological advancements within this program will contribute to responsible development of natural resources, improved fundamental understanding of earthquake activation mechanisms, and unique opportunities to generate innovative methods and workflows. The university-industry synergies established through this partnership will create an innovation platform that promises to yield scientific advances of high global significance.

最近的诱发地震（即由人类活动引起的地震），例如2018年11月30日在不列颠哥伦比亚省圣约翰堡附近发生的4.5级中等地震，及时提醒人们在水力压裂作业期间可能引发有震感的地震活动。管理诱发地震活动风险的科学策略受到关键知识空白的阻碍，包括：1)了解哪些预先存在的断层容易发生诱发地震活动；Ii)描述缓慢（地震）断层滑动在地震发生中的作用；Iii)利用实地观测校准真实的数值模拟；iv)地震诱发地震动的时空变异性。技术的发展，包括观测网络的进步、分布式声学传感（DAS）、创建地震活动目录的先进方法、物理信息的机器学习和视觉分析，使这些应用领域的进步成熟，将使加拿大公众、监管机构和行业受益。这个为期3年的研究项目将结合卡尔加里大学研究人员团队的各种科学专业知识，以及包括5家加拿大石油和天然气公司、2家高科技服务提供商和地球科学BC在内的价值链合作伙伴关系的卓越数据集和经验。因此，它将为13名高素质人才创造一个世界级的培训环境，其中包括7名博士后研究人员和6名硕士研究生，他们将在学术界、政府和行业中担任技术领导角色。通过识别和绘制临界应力断层并了解其对油气生产的影响，该项目中的技术进步将有助于负责任的自然资源开发，提高对地震激活机制的基本理解，并为产生创新方法和工作流程提供独特的机会。通过这种伙伴关系建立的大学-产业协同效应将创造一个创新平台，有望产生具有高度全球意义的科学进步。