The Application of High-Quality Seismic Catalogs in Forecasting Induced Seismicity: A Risk Management System

Date: 4/26/2019

Time: 11:15 AM

Room: Cascade I

In this study, we discuss different published seismicity forecasting models and present the learnings from a practical implementation of three published forecasting models in a risk management system for hydraulic fracturing operations. The seismicity prediction performance of the system is validated via real-time monitoring and playback of over 30 diverse datasets. The results show that the estimated seismicity agrees well with observed seismicity in the majority of cases, that multiple models produce very similar results, and that the injected volume has limited impact on seismicity forecasts. The study also highlights the limitations of this approach when a large event occurs early in the sequence. One of the most important takeaways is the impact that the quality of seismic data has on the system performance. High-quality data recorded by a local array combined with advanced processing techniques designed to generate “research grade” seismic catalogues automatically in near real-time is a key requirement. This development also serves as an excellent example of collaboration between industry (data acquisition and array deployment), academia (model development), and service providers (data processing advancements and implementation) to understand and manage the induced seismicity phenomenon.

Presenting Author: Sepideh Karimi

Authors