Widespread Anthropogenic Uplift, Subsidence, Co-Seismic Faulting and Earthquakes in the Delaware Basin of Texas and New Mexico
Description:
The Delaware Basin of west Texas and southeast New Mexico is now the largest producer of oil globally, totaling 4 billion barrels 2010-2021. This production has necessitated disposal by injection of 14 billion barrels of coproduced wastewater. Here we show that the Sentinel-1 Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) satellite mission has greatly improved our ability to monitor subsurface deformation that occurred between 2015 and 2021 in response to subsurface fluid movement. The rate of surface deformation has accelerated since 2018 and signals significant geomechanical sensitivity to shale compaction, reservoir pressurization and inflation, faults that deflect the ground surface, and induced earthquakes of multiple causes. The subsidence region extends over ~16,000 km2 with a maximum subsidence of 17 cm (332 million m3) whereas the uplifted region extends over 18,000 km2 with a maximum uplift of 12 cm (155 million m3). Subsidence correlates linearly with fluid volume produced, while injection causes complex patterns of uplift spreading laterally and complexly. Several earthquake sequence areas that have been active since 2019 have caused co-seismic uplift of several cm and the formation of asymmetrically rotated fault blocks with linear boundaries. Understanding the dynamic change to the shallow injection strata and the sealing units above is a pressing concern for safeguarding the surface environment in the basin and its tens of thousands of old petroleum wellbores.
Session: Advances in Characterizing Seismic Hazard and Forecasting Risk in Hydrocarbon Systems [Poster]
Type: Poster
Date: 4/18/2023
Presentation Time: 08:00 AM (local time)
Presenting Author: Peter Hennings
Student Presenter: No
Invited Presentation:
Authors
Peter Hennings Presenting Author Corresponding Author peter.hennings@beg.utexas.edu University of Texas at Austin |
Scott Staniewicz scott.staniewicz@austin.utexas.edu University of Texas at Austin |
Katie Smye katie.smye@beg.utexas.edu University of Texas at Austin |
Jingyi Chen jingyi.ann.chen@utexas.edu University of Texas at Austin |
Elizabeth Horne lily.horne@beg.utexas.edu University of Texas at Austin |
Jun Ge jun.ge@beg.utexas.edu University of Texas at Austin |
Robert Reedy bob.reedy@beg.utexas.edu University of Texas at Austin |
Bridget Scanlon bridget.scanlon@beg.utexas.edu University of Texas at Austin |
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Widespread Anthropogenic Uplift, Subsidence, Co-Seismic Faulting and Earthquakes in the Delaware Basin of Texas and New Mexico
Category
Advances in Characterizing Seismic Hazard and Forecasting Risk in Hydrocarbon Systems