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https://hdl.handle.net/11681/10471| Title: | Unconventional hydrocarbon development hazards within the Central United States : Report 1, overview and potential risk To infrastructure |
| Authors: | Taylor, Oliver-Denzil S. Lester, Alanna P. Lee, Theodore A. |
| Keywords: | Unconventional hydrocarbon Development Induced seismicity Earthquakes Hydraulic fracturing Fracking Observation data Risk Hazard identification |
| Publisher: | Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (U.S.) Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.) |
| Series/Report no.: | ERDC/GSL TR ; 15-26 rept.1. |
| Description: | Technical Report Abstract: Unconventional hydrocarbon development-induced seismic hazard in historically aseismic regions is more frequent and concentrated than seismicity in established tectonic high-hazard zones. A significant increase in seismicity within historically aseismic regions and in close proximity to federal infrastructure has been observed within Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Seismological events M2.0 and greater, spanning 02/08/1950 until 10/20/2013, were analyzed to identify and assess the hazard potential. Geospatial and temporal observations correlate the seismic increase to the rise of unconventional hydrocarbon development, which has become more analogous with deep ore mining in terms of energy release. Thus, unconventional hydrocarbon is subjected to the same causality phenomena and associative hazards with significant implications towards quantifying the risk to infrastructure health and longevity. Furthermore, the current standard of practice for risk assessment is not applicable for this highly variable, induced hazard. Additionally, this research investigated the cumulative seismic potential, based on injected fluid volume, of co-located hydraulic fracturing wells wherein the seismic potential of such wells are equivalent to the seismic potential of conventional wastewater injection wells. This cumulative seismic potential of multiple hydraulic fracturing wells could explain the seismicity within regions of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, wherein no other regional geo-engineering activity has been reported. Additionally, this study presents a power-law relation, useful for all injected fluid activities irrespective of the injection purpose, and applies the cumulative potential to the largest known UHP hydraulic fracturing volumes an event up to M𝚠5.5 can reasonably expect with a maximum potential of M𝚠6.5. |
| Rights: | Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11681/10471 |
| Appears in Collections: | Technical Report |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERDC-GSL-TR-15-26-Report-1.pdf | 6.8 MB | Adobe PDF |  View/Open |