Research line: INDUCED SEISMICITY

Description

Subsurface fluid injection and extraction implies changes in fluid pressure and temperature that deform the media and may induce (micro)seismicity if failure conditions are reached in fractures or faults. Induced seismicity is relevant in applications such as geothermal energy, wastewater disposal, geologic carbon storage, shale gas, seasonal natural gas storage and subsurface energy storage.

 

Topics that the hydrogeology group deals with

• Development of efficient numerical codes
• Investigation of the triggering mechanisms of induced seismicity to develop methodologies to minimize the occurrence of earthquakes induced as a result of fluid injection and/or extraction
• Advance in the knowledge of the coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical response of geomaterials

Associated lines

• Research of multiphase flow (MF)
• Research of low permeable media

Keywords

Overpressure, geomechanics, coupled processes, induced seismicity

Related projects

• FracRisk
• TRUST
• MUSTANG
• PANACEA

Relevant publications related to this line

• Vilarrasa, V. and Carrera, J., 2015. Geologic carbon storage is unlikely to trigger large earthquakes and reactivate faults through which CO₂ could leak. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(19): 5938-5943
• Vilarrasa, V. and Carrera, J., 2015. Reply to Zoback and Gorelick: Geologic carbon storage remains a safe strategy to significantly reduce CO₂ Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(33): E4511-E4511
• De Simone, S., Carrera, J. and Vilarrasa, V., 2017. Superposition approach to understand triggering mechanisms of post-injection induced seismicity. Geothermics, 70: 85-97
• Vilarrasa, V. and Rutqvist, J., 2017. Thermal effects on geologic carbon storage. Earth Science Reviews, 165: 245-256
• Vilarrasa, V., 2016. The role of the stress regime on microseismicity induced by overpressure and cooling in geologic carbon storage. Geofluids, 16(5): 941-953
• Vilarrasa, V., Makhnenko, R. and Gheibi, S., 2016. Geomechanical analysis of the influence of CO₂ injection location on fault stability. Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 8: 805-818
• Vilarrasa, V., Bustarret, G., Laloui, L. and Zeidouni, M., 2017. A methodology to detect and locate low-permeability faults to reduce the risk of inducing seismicity of fluid injection operations in deep saline formations. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 59: 110-122
• Vilarrasa, V. and Makhnenko, R., 2017. Caprock integrity and induced seismicity from laboratory and numerical experiments. Energy Procedia, 125: 494-503
• Vilarrasa, V., Rutqvist, J. and Rinaldi, A. P., 2015. Thermal and capillary effects on the caprock mechanical stability at In Salah, Algeria. Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, 5: 449-461
• Vilarrasa, V., Olivella, S., Carrera, J. and Rutqvist, J., 2014. Long term impacts of cold CO₂ injection on the caprock integrity. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 24: 1-13
• Vilarrasa, V., 2014. Impact of CO₂ injection through horizontal and vertical wells on the caprock mechanical stability. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 66: 151-159
• De Simone, S., Vilarrasa, V., Carrera, J., Alcolea, A. and Meier, P., 2013. Thermal coupling may control mechanical stability of geothermal reservoirs during cold water injection. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 64: 117-126

Software

• CODE_BRIGHT
• KRATOS