Advances in Earth Science ›› 2014, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (11): 1226-1241. doi: 10.11867/j.issn.1001-8166.2014.11.1226

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Mechanism of Underground Fluid Injection Induced Seismicity and Its Implications for CCS Projects

Xiaochen Wei 1( ), Qi Li 1( ), Huilin Xing 2, Xiaying Li 1, Ranran Song 1   

  1. 1.Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Geotechnical Mechanics and Engineering, Wuhan 430071, China
    2. Centre for Geosciences Computing, School of Earth Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
  • Online:2014-11-27 Published:2014-11-20

Xiaochen Wei, Qi Li, Huilin Xing, Xiaying Li, Ranran Song. Mechanism of Underground Fluid Injection Induced Seismicity and Its Implications for CCS Projects[J]. Advances in Earth Science, 2014, 29(11): 1226-1241.

CO2 capture and storage projects must consider the potential possibility ofinjection induced seismicity. Moderate earthquakes and strong earthquakes may endanger human life and property, and even felt earthquakes and microquakes also pose a threat to seal integrity of CO2 reservoir and increase the risk of leakage. Underground fluid injection induced seismicity usually happens in some geoengineering projects such as waste fluid disposal, EOR and EGS, and it occurs when fluid is injected along the fault. Therefore, it can be studied through stress analysis. The density of supercritical CO2 is smaller than water, which may develop density flow in the deep strata or water-rock interactions in pre-existing structures, and cause the variation in permeability and pressure to induce a seismic activity. In this paper, we reviewed the mechanism of underground fluid injection induced seismicity with the focus of CCS, combined with fluid injection projects and seismic monitoring analysis in both commercial scale and experimental scale, to investigate its impact on the integrity of the cap rock of the reservoir. Finally, we summarized the appropriate site selection, injection methods and monitoring programs to prevent the occurrence of induced seismicity.

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