Induced seismicity at the UK ‘hot dry rock’ test site for geothermal energy production

Li, Xun; Main, Ian; Jupe, A.

doi:10.1093/gji/ggy135

Cited by 19 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…which SI values are available is the Rosemanowes Hot Dry Rock geothermal site, for which Li et al (2018) found maximum values of SI = -3.4, significantly lower than the values found for PNR-1z.…”

Section: Seismic Efficiency and Seismogenic Indexmentioning

confidence: 66%

Real‐Time Imaging, Forecasting, and Management of Human‐Induced Seismicity at Preston New Road, Lancashire, England

Clarke¹,

Verdon

Kettlety

et al. 2019

Seismological Research Letters

103

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Earthquakes induced by subsurface fluid injection pose a significant issue across a range of industries. Debate continues as to the most effective methods to mitigate the resulting seismic hazard. Observations of induced seismicity indicate that the rate of seismicity scales with the injection volume and that events follow the Gutenberg–Richter distribution. These two inferences permit us to populate statistical models of the seismicity and extrapolate them to make forecasts of the expected event magnitudes as injection continues. Here, we describe a shale gas site where this approach was used in real time to make operational decisions during hydraulic fracturing operations.Microseismic observations revealed the intersection between hydraulic fracturing and a pre‐existing fault or fracture network that became seismically active. Although “red light” events, requiring a pause to the injection program, occurred on several occasions, the observed event magnitudes fell within expected levels based on the extrapolated statistical models, and the levels of seismicity remained within acceptable limits as defined by the regulator. To date, induced seismicity has typically been regulated using retroactive traffic light schemes. This study shows that the use of high‐quality microseismic observations to populate statistical models that forecast expected event magnitudes can provide a more effective approach.

show abstract

Section: Seismic Efficiency and Seismogenic Indexmentioning

confidence: 66%

Real‐Time Imaging, Forecasting, and Management of Human‐Induced Seismicity at Preston New Road, Lancashire, England

Clarke¹,

Verdon

Kettlety

et al. 2019

Seismological Research Letters

103

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Temperatures at the base of UD-1 have been predicted at about 200°C (Ledingham et al, 2019). Shearing and downward flow of injected fluid was observed in boreholes as part of the earlier HDR project and tracked with measured microseismicity (Pine & Batchelor, 1984;Green et al, 1988;Li et al, 2018). Figure 10 shows a map of SW England overlain with seismicity data from the BGS (Musson, 1996).…”

Section: Porthtowan Fault Zone In Cornwall Ukmentioning

confidence: 76%

Reply on AC4

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Temperatures at the base of UD-1 were predicted to be about 200 • C (Ledingham et al, 2019), and recent observations confirm this (Reinecker et al, 2021). Shearing and downward flow of injected fluid was observed in boreholes as part of the earlier HDR project and tracked with measured microseismicity (Pine and Batchelor, 1984;Green et al, 1988;Li et al, 2018).…”

Section: Porthtowan Fault Zone In Cornwall Ukmentioning

confidence: 85%

De-risking the energy transition by quantifying the uncertainties in fault stability

Healy

Hicks²

2022

Solid Earth

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. The operations needed to decarbonize our energy systems increasingly involve faulted rocks in the subsurface. To manage the technical challenges presented by these rocks and the justifiable public concern over induced seismicity, we need to assess the risks. Widely used measures for fault stability, including slip and dilation tendency and fracture susceptibility, can be combined with response surface methodology from engineering and Monte Carlo simulations to produce statistically viable ensembles for the analysis of probability. In this paper, we describe the implementation of this approach using custom-built open-source Python code (pfs – probability of fault slip). The technique is then illustrated using two synthetic examples and two case studies drawn from active or potential sites for geothermal energy in the UK and discussed in the light of induced seismicity focal mechanisms. The analysis of probability highlights key gaps in our knowledge of the stress field, fluid pressures, and rock properties. Scope exists to develop, integrate, and exploit citizen science projects to generate more and better data and simultaneously include the public in the necessary discussions about hazard and risk.

show abstract

Induced seismicity at the UK ‘hot dry rock’ test site for geothermal energy production

Cited by 19 publications

References 48 publications

Real‐Time Imaging, Forecasting, and Management of Human‐Induced Seismicity at Preston New Road, Lancashire, England

Real‐Time Imaging, Forecasting, and Management of Human‐Induced Seismicity at Preston New Road, Lancashire, England

Reply on AC4

De-risking the energy transition by quantifying the uncertainties in fault stability

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About