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Fault reactivation during CO 2 sequestration: Effects of well orientation on seismicity and leakage

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  • Antonio P. Rinaldi
  • Victor Vilarrasa
  • Jonny Rutqvist
  • Frédéric Cappa

Abstract

Injection or withdrawal of fluid at depth may trigger felt seismicity. Such human‐induced seismicity is a key environmental concern related to the exploitation of natural underground resources. Thus, understanding how to avoid triggering felt earthquakes plays a crucial role in the success of underground anthropogenic activities, such as CO 2 geological storage. In this work, we conduct 3D simulations of injection‐triggered fault reactivation, in order to investigate the effects of well geometry on seismic rupture and CO 2 leakage. We analyze two different cases of injection, through (1) a vertical and (2) a horizontal well. Simulation results for the vertical well show the fault pressurizing faster and more locally than for the horizontal well, resulting in a smaller seismic event. For the horizontal well, the pressure is distributed over a wider area along the fault, which requires a longer time to reactivate, but results in a larger event. Fault reactivation also produces changes in damage‐zone and fault‐core permeability, allowing the CO 2 to leak from the injection zone through overlying caprock, toward shallower depths. Although the calculated fault permeability enhancement is similar for the two cases, results show a slightly higher leakage rate for the vertical well in the region close to the well itself, while the leakage resulting from injection through the horizontal well is more widely distributed.Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonio P. Rinaldi & Victor Vilarrasa & Jonny Rutqvist & Frédéric Cappa, 2015. "Fault reactivation during CO 2 sequestration: Effects of well orientation on seismicity and leakage," Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 5(5), pages 645-656, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:greenh:v:5:y:2015:i:5:p:645-656
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/ghg.1511
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Antonio P. Rinaldi & Pierre Jeanne & Jonny Rutqvist & Frédéric Cappa & Yves Guglielmi, 2014. "Effects of fault‐zone architecture on earthquake magnitude and gas leakage related to CO 2 injection in a multi‐layered sedimentary system," Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 4(1), pages 99-120, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sikandar Khan & Yehia Khulief & Abdullatif Al-Shuhail & Salem Bashmal & Naveed Iqbal, 2020. "The Geomechanical and Fault Activation Modeling during CO 2 Injection into Deep Minjur Reservoir, Eastern Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-17, November.
    2. Samin Raziperchikolaee & Vivek Singh & Mark Kelley, 2020. "The effect of Biot coefficient and elastic moduli stress–pore pressure dependency on poroelastic response to fluid injection: laboratory experiments and geomechanical modeling," Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 10(5), pages 980-998, October.
    3. Curtis M. Oldenburg & Yingqi Zhang, 2022. "Downwind dispersion of CO2 from a major subsea blowout in shallow offshore waters," Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 12(2), pages 321-331, April.

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