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Seismotectonic state of reservoirs inferred from magnitude distributions of fluid-induced seismicity

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Abstract

Fluid injections in geothermal reservoirs usually induce small magnitude earthquakes (M < 2). Sometimes, however, earthquakes with larger magnitudes (M ~4) occur. Recently, we have shown that under rather general conditions, the probability of an event having a magnitude larger than a given one increases proportionally to the injected fluid mass. The number of earthquakes larger than a given magnitude also depends on the tectonic conditions of an injection site. A convenient parameter for the characterisation of the seismotectonic state of a reservoir location is the seismogenic index Σ. It combines four, generally unknown, site-specific seismotectonic quantities. Using this index, we comparatively analyse the seismotectonic state of several geothermal as well as non-geothermal reservoir locations. The seismogenic indices of the considered locations are in the range of − 10 < Σ < 0.5. Although the number of reservoirs under examination is limited, we see a clear separation between hydrocarbon and geothermal reservoirs with respect to the seismotectonic state. In addition to a higher seismogenic index, geothermal reservoir locations are characterised by a lower b value. It means that fluid injections in geothermal reservoirs have a higher probability to induce an earthquake with a significant magnitude. Our formulation provides a basis for estimating expected magnitudes of induced earthquakes. This can potentially be used to avoid the occurrence of large magnitude earthquakes by correspondingly planning fluid injections.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) as sponsor of the MAGS project and the sponsors of the PHASE consortium project for supporting the research presented in this paper. Microseismic data from Cooper Basin and Ogachi are courtesy of Dr. H. Kaieda (CRIEPI, Japan); from Basel, of Dr. M. O. Häring (Geothermal Explorers LTD); from Paradox Valley, of Dr. K. Mahrer (formerly, Bureau of Reclamation, now at Weatherford); from Cotton Valley, of Dr. J. Rutledge (LANL); from Barnett Shale, of Dr. S. Maxwell (formerly, Pinnacle, now at Schlumberger); and microseismic data from Soultz experiments were kindly provided by Dr. A. Jupe and by the GEIE Exploration Minire de la Chaleur. We thank the two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions.

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  1. FR Geophysik, Freie Universität Berlin, Malteserstr. 74-100, 12249, Berlin, Germany

    Carsten Dinske & Serge A. Shapiro

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  1. Carsten Dinske
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  2. Serge A. Shapiro
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Correspondence to Carsten Dinske.

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Dinske, C., Shapiro, S.A. Seismotectonic state of reservoirs inferred from magnitude distributions of fluid-induced seismicity. J Seismol 17, 13–25 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-012-9292-9

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