Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies

Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2013-08-14

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 0309253705

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In the past several years, some energy technologies that inject or extract fluid from the Earth, such as oil and gas development and geothermal energy development, have been found or suspected to cause seismic events, drawing heightened public attention. Although only a very small fraction of injection and extraction activities among the hundreds of thousands of energy development sites in the United States have induced seismicity at levels noticeable to the public, understanding the potential for inducing felt seismic events and for limiting their occurrence and impacts is desirable for state and federal agencies, industry, and the public at large. To better understand, limit, and respond to induced seismic events, work is needed to build robust prediction models, to assess potential hazards, and to help relevant agencies coordinate to address them. Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies identifies gaps in knowledge and research needed to advance the understanding of induced seismicity; identify gaps in induced seismic hazard assessment methodologies and the research to close those gaps; and assess options for steps toward best practices with regard to energy development and induced seismicity potential.


Thermo-hydro-mechanical Modeling of Induced Seismicity in Carbon Sequestration Projects

Thermo-hydro-mechanical Modeling of Induced Seismicity in Carbon Sequestration Projects

Author: Kimia Mortezaei

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 82

ISBN-13:

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The ultimate goal of this project is to comprehensively investigate induced seismicity potential by studying the behavior of fault shear zones during high pressure CO2 injection for utilization and storage operations. Seismicity induced by fluid injection is one of the major concerns associated with recent energy technologies such as Carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. CO2 injection increases reservoir pore pressure and decreases the effective stress causing deformation that can degrade the storage integrity by creating new fractures and reactivating faults. The first consequence is that reactivation of faults and fractures create a pathway for upward CO2 migration. The increased seismic activity is the second consequence, which raises the public concern despite the small magnitudes of such earthquakes. Changes in pore fluid pressure within the injection zone can induce lowmagnitude seismic events. However, there are multiple involved Thermo-HydroMechanical (THM) processes during and after fault slip that influences pore pressure and fault strength. Flash heating and thermal pressurization are two examples of such processes that can weaken the fault and decrease frictional resistance along the fault. The proposed study aims to use a multi-physics numerical simulation to analyze the fault shear zone mechanics and capture the involved THM processes during CO2 injection. In one study, a coupled THM model is performed to simulate stress and pore pressure changes in the fault and ultimately measuring the maximum induced magnitude. The other study investigates the response of the fault shear zone during CO2 injection with and without considering the thermal pressurization (TP) effect. In the third part, the realistic behavior of friction was studied by using a rate-and-state friction theory to capture the full earthquake rupture sequence. The outcome of the proposed project can significantly increase the efficiency and public acceptance of CCS technology by addressing the major concerns related to the induced seismicity due to CO2 injection.


Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies

Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies

Author: Committee on Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2013-08-28

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 0309253683

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In the past several years, some energy technologies that inject or extract fluid from the Earth, such as oil and gas development and geothermal energy development, have been found or suspected to cause seismic events, drawing heightened public attention. Although only a very small fraction of injection and extraction activities among the hundreds of thousands of energy development sites in the United States have induced seismicity at levels noticeable to the public, understanding the potential for inducing felt seismic events and for limiting their occurrence and impacts is desirable for state and federal agencies, industry, and the public at large. To better understand, limit, and respond to induced seismic events, work is needed to build robust prediction models, to assess potential hazards, and to help relevant agencies coordinate to address them. Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies identifies gaps in knowledge and research needed to advance the understanding of induced seismicity; identify gaps in induced seismic hazard assessment methodologies and the research to close those gaps; and assess options for steps toward best practices with regard to energy development and induced seismicity potential.


Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration

Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2019-04-08

Total Pages: 511

ISBN-13: 0309484529

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To achieve goals for climate and economic growth, "negative emissions technologies" (NETs) that remove and sequester carbon dioxide from the air will need to play a significant role in mitigating climate change. Unlike carbon capture and storage technologies that remove carbon dioxide emissions directly from large point sources such as coal power plants, NETs remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere or enhance natural carbon sinks. Storing the carbon dioxide from NETs has the same impact on the atmosphere and climate as simultaneously preventing an equal amount of carbon dioxide from being emitted. Recent analyses found that deploying NETs may be less expensive and less disruptive than reducing some emissions, such as a substantial portion of agricultural and land-use emissions and some transportation emissions. In 2015, the National Academies published Climate Intervention: Carbon Dioxide Removal and Reliable Sequestration, which described and initially assessed NETs and sequestration technologies. This report acknowledged the relative paucity of research on NETs and recommended development of a research agenda that covers all aspects of NETs from fundamental science to full-scale deployment. To address this need, Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration: A Research Agenda assesses the benefits, risks, and "sustainable scale potential" for NETs and sequestration. This report also defines the essential components of a research and development program, including its estimated costs and potential impact.


Geologic Carbon Sequestration

Geologic Carbon Sequestration

Author: V. Vishal

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-05-11

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 3319270192

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This exclusive compilation written by eminent experts from more than ten countries, outlines the processes and methods for geologic sequestration in different sinks. It discusses and highlights the details of individual storage types, including recent advances in the science and technology of carbon storage. The topic is of immense interest to geoscientists, reservoir engineers, environmentalists and researchers from the scientific and industrial communities working on the methodologies for carbon dioxide storage. Increasing concentrations of anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are often held responsible for the rising temperature of the globe. Geologic sequestration prevents atmospheric release of the waste greenhouse gases by storing them underground for geologically significant periods of time. The book addresses the need for an understanding of carbon reservoir characteristics and behavior. Other book volumes on carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) attempt to cover the entire process of CCUS, but the topic of geologic sequestration is not discussed in detail. This book focuses on the recent trends and up-to-date information on different storage rock types, ranging from deep saline aquifers to coal to basaltic formations.


Seismicity Characterization and Monitoring at WESTCARB's Proposed Montezuma Hills Geologic Sequestration Site

Seismicity Characterization and Monitoring at WESTCARB's Proposed Montezuma Hills Geologic Sequestration Site

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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The West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (WESTCARB), in collaboration with Shell Oil Co. performed site characterization for a potential small-scale pilot test of geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2). The site area, know as Montezuma Hills, is near the town of Rio Vista in northern California. During the process of injection at a CO2 storage site, there is a potential for seismic events due to slippage upon pre-existing discontinuities or due to creation of new fractures. Observations from many injection projects have shown that the energy from these events can be used for monitoring of processes in the reservoir. Typically, the events are of relatively high frequency and very low amplitude. However, there are also well documented (non-CO2-related) cases in which subsurface injection operations have resulted in ground motion felt by near-by communities. Because of the active tectonics in California (in particular the San Andreas Fault system), and the potential for public concern, WESTCARB developed and followed an induced seismicity protocol (Myer and Daley, 2010). This protocol called for assessing the natural seismicity in the area and deploying a monitoring array if necessary. In this report, we present the results of the natural seismicity assessment and the results of an initial temporary deployment of two seismometers at the Montezuma Hills site. Following the temporary array deployment, the project was suspended and the array removed in August of 2010.


Geophysics and Geosequestration

Geophysics and Geosequestration

Author: Thomas L. Davis

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2019-05-09

Total Pages: 391

ISBN-13: 1107137497

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An overview of the geophysical techniques and analysis methods for monitoring subsurface carbon dioxide storage for researchers and industry practitioners.


Induced Seismicity

Induced Seismicity

Author: Harsh K. Gupta

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 3034892381

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A workshop on Induced Seismicity was organized during the 27th General Assembly of the International Association of Seismology and Physics of Earth's Interior (IASPEI) in Wellington, New Zealand during January 10-21, 1994. This volume presents a collection of 16 papers accepted for publication which accrued from this workshop. The first three papers address mining activity related to induced seismicity. The fourth paper deals with water injection induced seismic activity, while the remaining 12 papers treat several aspects of water reservoir induced earthquakes. Globally, the Koyna dam creating Shivajisagar Lake in Maharashtra, India, continues to be the most significant site of reservoir-induced earthquakes. With the increase in the number of cases of induced seismicity, there is a growing concern among planners, engineers, geophysicists and geologists to understand the environment conducive to this phenomenon. While the changes in pore-fluid pressure have been identified as the key factor in inducing earthquakes, the phenomenon itself is still poorly understood. This reality thus makes the study of the induced seismicity very important and this volume timely.