Widespread deep seismicity in the Delaware Basin, Texas, is mainly driven by shallow wastewater injection

Journal Article · Mon May 10 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2102338118· OSTI ID:1782411

Zhai, Guang ^[1]; Shirzaei, Manoochehr ^[2]; Manga, Michael ^[3]

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1. Berkeley Seismological Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720,, Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720,, Department of Geosciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061
2. Department of Geosciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061
3. Berkeley Seismological Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720,, Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720,

Significance

The Delaware Basin, western Texas, has experienced a surge in the number of earthquakes. We investigate basin-wide earthquake, hydrogeologic, industrial, and geodetic data spanning 1993–2020 to identify the reasons for the increase. We use these data and models to quantify the stress changes from wastewater injection and hydrocarbon extraction. We demonstrate that the basin-wide seismicity is dominated by the stresses caused by shallow injection that are transmitted vertically by deforming the underlying crust. We analyze both injection and production data to understand how subsurface properties control earthquake locations and timings. We suggest that injecting wastewater into porous formations will minimize seismic hazard. We establish a framework explaining why earthquakes sometimes occur and sometimes do not occur within human activity-impacted areas.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: SC0019307
• OSTI ID: 1782411
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1853048
• Journal Information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Issue: 20 Vol. 118; ISSN 0027-8424
• Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English