skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Impact of induced seismic events on seal integrity, Texas Gulf Coast

Abstract

Recent publications have suggested that large-scale CO2 injection could trigger earthquakes and that even small- to moderate-sized earthquakes may threaten the seal integrity of the injection zone, and potentially damage buildings and other surface structures. In this study, we compared seal thickness to estimated fault displacement due to a single hypothetical seismic event in a selected area of the Texas Gulf Coast comprising an offshore strip of state waters along two Texas counties. To evaluate the slip generated by a single seismic event, we compiled well log information on shale/sand sequences and seismic information on fault geometric characteristics of a section of Lower Miocene age. The section is thousands of feet thick and is overlain and underlain by marine shales (Amph. B and Anahuac, respectively) that are relatively easy to correlate between wells. The Amph. B. shale is the secondary and ultimate seal for all injection intervals in the Lower Miocene. Given its thickness, no realistic seismic event or small series of seismic events will offset it significantly. However, this may not be true of smaller local primary seals. An analysis of geophysical logs of a total of 71 wells yielded a total of 2,871 sand / shale binary intervals.more » An analysis of the dedicated 3D seismic survey counted 723 fault traces at five roughly horizontal horizons within the Lower Miocene Fault displacement estimated using the product of the fault length times an uncertain multiplier coefficient assumed to follow a triangular distribution with a 10-3 to 10-5 range and a mode of 8 × 10-5. We then compared estimated single-event fault displacements to seal thicknesses by means of a Monte-Carlo analysis. Only 1.8% of thickness/displacement pairs display a displacement greater than 20% of the seal thickness. Only 0.26% of the pairs result in a displacement of half the seal thickness and only 0.05% of thickness/displacement pairs result in a clear seal rupture. The next step was to compare the magnitude of the event generated by such a displacement to documented magnitudes of “large” earthquakes generated by waterflooding and fluid disposal. Based on this analysis, we conclude that seismicity that may arise from CO2 injection appears not to be a serious complication for CO2 storage integrity, at least in the Gulf Coast area.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [2]
  1. Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States). Bureau of Economic Geology
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1207905
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Energy Procedia (Online)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 63; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 1876-6102
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; induced seismicity; earthquakes; fluid injection; fault displacement; seal offset; CO2 leakage

Citation Formats

Nicot, Jean-Philippe, Meckel, Timothy A., Carr, David A., and Oldenburg, Curtis M. Impact of induced seismic events on seal integrity, Texas Gulf Coast. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2014.11.511.
Nicot, Jean-Philippe, Meckel, Timothy A., Carr, David A., & Oldenburg, Curtis M. Impact of induced seismic events on seal integrity, Texas Gulf Coast. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2014.11.511
Nicot, Jean-Philippe, Meckel, Timothy A., Carr, David A., and Oldenburg, Curtis M. 2014. "Impact of induced seismic events on seal integrity, Texas Gulf Coast". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2014.11.511. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1207905.
@article{osti_1207905,
title = {Impact of induced seismic events on seal integrity, Texas Gulf Coast},
author = {Nicot, Jean-Philippe and Meckel, Timothy A. and Carr, David A. and Oldenburg, Curtis M.},
abstractNote = {Recent publications have suggested that large-scale CO2 injection could trigger earthquakes and that even small- to moderate-sized earthquakes may threaten the seal integrity of the injection zone, and potentially damage buildings and other surface structures. In this study, we compared seal thickness to estimated fault displacement due to a single hypothetical seismic event in a selected area of the Texas Gulf Coast comprising an offshore strip of state waters along two Texas counties. To evaluate the slip generated by a single seismic event, we compiled well log information on shale/sand sequences and seismic information on fault geometric characteristics of a section of Lower Miocene age. The section is thousands of feet thick and is overlain and underlain by marine shales (Amph. B and Anahuac, respectively) that are relatively easy to correlate between wells. The Amph. B. shale is the secondary and ultimate seal for all injection intervals in the Lower Miocene. Given its thickness, no realistic seismic event or small series of seismic events will offset it significantly. However, this may not be true of smaller local primary seals. An analysis of geophysical logs of a total of 71 wells yielded a total of 2,871 sand / shale binary intervals. An analysis of the dedicated 3D seismic survey counted 723 fault traces at five roughly horizontal horizons within the Lower Miocene Fault displacement estimated using the product of the fault length times an uncertain multiplier coefficient assumed to follow a triangular distribution with a 10-3 to 10-5 range and a mode of 8 × 10-5. We then compared estimated single-event fault displacements to seal thicknesses by means of a Monte-Carlo analysis. Only 1.8% of thickness/displacement pairs display a displacement greater than 20% of the seal thickness. Only 0.26% of the pairs result in a displacement of half the seal thickness and only 0.05% of thickness/displacement pairs result in a clear seal rupture. The next step was to compare the magnitude of the event generated by such a displacement to documented magnitudes of “large” earthquakes generated by waterflooding and fluid disposal. Based on this analysis, we conclude that seismicity that may arise from CO2 injection appears not to be a serious complication for CO2 storage integrity, at least in the Gulf Coast area.},
doi = {10.1016/j.egypro.2014.11.511},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1207905}, journal = {Energy Procedia (Online)},
issn = {1876-6102},
number = C,
volume = 63,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 2014},
month = {Wed Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 2014}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 2 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Sharp increase in central Oklahoma seismicity since 2008 induced by massive wastewater injection
journal, July 2014


The risk of induced seismicity: is cap-rock integrity on shaky ground?
journal, August 2012


Earthquake triggering and large-scale geologic storage of carbon dioxide
journal, June 2012


Induced seismicity within geological carbon sequestration projects: Maximum earthquake magnitude and leakage potential from undetected faults
journal, September 2012


Displacement-length scaling for single-event fault ruptures: insights from Newberry Springs Fault Zone and implications for fault zone structure
journal, January 2008


Two-year survey comparing earthquake activity and injection-well locations in the Barnett Shale, Texas
journal, August 2012


Location and Felt Reports for the 25 April 2010 mbLg 3.9 Earthquake near Alice, Texas: Was it Induced by Petroleum Production?
journal, March 2012


Analysis of the Cleburne, Texas, Earthquake Sequence from June 2009 to June 2010
journal, October 2013


Measuring permanence of CO2 storage in saline formations: the Frio experiment
journal, June 2006


Analysis of the relationship between displacements and dimensions of faults
journal, January 1988


Fault rocks and fault mechanisms
journal, March 1977


Works referencing / citing this record:

Modeling the hydromechanical responses of sandwich structure faults during underground fluid injection
journal, August 2016