Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Oct 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009geoji.179..634f&link_type=abstract
Geophysical Journal International, Volume 179, Issue 9, pp. 634-639.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
1
Downhole Methods, Geomechanics, Fracture And Flow, Earthquake Source Observations
Scientific paper
Hydraulic fracture stimulation is frequently performed in hydrocarbon reservoirs and geothermal systems to increase the permeability of the rock formation. These hydraulic fractures are often mapped by hypocentres of induced microearthquakes. In some cases microseismicity exhibits asymmetry relative to the injection well, which can be interpreted by unequal conditions for fracture growth at opposite sides of the well or by observation effects. Here we investigate the role of the lateral change of the minimum compressive stress. We use a simple model to describe the relation among the lateral stress gradient, the mean viscous pressure gradients in the fracture wings, the fracture geometry, and the net pressure in the fracture. Our model predicts a faster fracture growth in the direction of decreasing stress and a limited growth in the opposite direction. We derive a simple relationship to estimate the lateral stress gradient from the injection pressure and the shape of the seismic hypocentre cloud. The model is tested by microseismic data obtained during stimulation of a Canyon Sands gas field in West Texas. Using a maximum likelihood method we fit the parameters of the asymmetric fracture model to the space-time pattern of hypocentres. The estimated stress gradients per metre are in the range from 0.008 to 0.010 times the bottom-hole injection overpressure (8-10 kPam-1 assuming the net pressure of 1 MPa). Such large horizontal gradients in the order of the hydrostatic gradient could be caused by the inhomogeneous extraction of gas resulting in a lateral change of the effective normal stress acting normal to the fracture wall.
Dahm Thomas
Fischer Theodore
Hainzl Sebastian
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