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Relocating Induced Seismic Events to Evaluate the 2022 Hydraulic Stimulation Stages at Utah FORGE

Description: 

The Utah Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) is a unique facility dedicated to advancing enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). It provides a controlled environment for studying induced seismicity and its implications for subsurface reservoir dynamics. In 2022, Utah FORGE conducted hydraulic stimulations in the deviated 16A-32 borehole, divided into three stages. The seismicity induced during these stimulations was originally intended to be monitored by a network of three deep borehole geophone strings positioned azimuthally around the stimulation zone. Due to technical challenges from extreme temperatures, only Stage 3 was monitored with geophones in all three boreholes. Stage 1 relied on a single borehole, while Stage 2 utilized geophones in two boreholes. For each stage, Geo-Energie Suisse (GES) analyzed available data to generate seismicity catalogs. The Stage 3 catalog achieves high precision, with absolute location errors estimated at less than 10 meters, while the Stage 1 and 2 catalogs have lower precision due to reduced network coverage. These differences limit the ability to infer subsurface structures and reservoir dynamics. To address these limitations, this study focuses on relocating seismic events from all three stages using the double-difference algorithm HypoDD. By replicating the original station configurations for each stage, the goal is to evaluate the impact of network geometry on resolution and structural interpretation. Stage 3 will serve as a baseline for assessing resolution loss and structural features in Stages 1 and 2. Through these efforts, the study intends to refine the relocated seismicity for Stages 1 and 2, revealing potential structural features and fluid pathways within the reservoir. Integrating seismic relocation results with hydraulic data is expected to provide critical insights into the reservoir characteristics at the toe of the Utah FORGE reservoir, contributing to improved reservoir management and advancing geothermal energy technologies.

Session: Mechanistic Insights into Fluid-induced Earthquakes from the Laboratory to the Field [Poster]

Type: Poster

Date: 4/15/2025

Presentation Time: 08:00 AM (local time)

Presenting Author: Addison

Student Presenter: Yes

Invited Presentation: 

Poster Number: 94

Authors