Numerical simulation of seismicity potential resulting from the injection of CO₂ into depleted reservoir in Wilbarger County field, Texas

Abstract

Fluid injection in fractured rocks presents significant challenges requiring the integration of various elements to account for reservoir property heterogeneities. To understand magnitude of potential seismic risks resulting from CO₂ injection in naturally fractured sand reservoirs in the study location, we devised a simulation model which utilizes a coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) approach, encompassing different injection scenarios and reservoir injection systems. The model effectively captures the complex interplay between geological features and fault failure processes. Furthermore, we examined the mechanical response of the caprock under constant injection rates by analyzing the evolution of shear stress and its impact on permeability enhancement. Our findings reveal that the pressurization effect of fluid and stress alterations trigger significant fault rupture, leading to seismic events of varying magnitudes. The extent of seismic activity hinges on the reservoir's initial state, the properties of the overlying caprock, and the injected volume. Moreover, we discovered that deformations within the caprock layer are most pronounced near fault zones, gradually diminishing with distance from these zones. Notably, the degree of permeability modification in the caprock is linked to the magnitude of shear stress. Additionally, our research corroborated that higher injection rates markedly accelerate fault slip, albeit with minimal impact on the extent of permeability enhancement. However, we noted a non-linear relationship between seismic activity and fluid injection rates, suggesting that the magnitude of seismic consequences is contingent upon the temporal analysis of various parameters. These significant findings offer valuable insights into understanding the intricate processes associated with subsurface injection, which often manifest in phenomena such as fault ruptures and induced seismicity.

Keywords

Caprock leakages / Groundwater contamination / Caprock instability / Fault failure / Injection volume and rate / Seismic events

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Dorcas S. Eyinla: Writing-review & editing, Writing-original draft, Visualization, Validation, Software, Resources, Methodology, Formal analysis, Data curation, Conceptualization. Hossein Emadi: Supervision. Steven K. Henderson: Supervision, Project administration. Humza Bin Navaid: Data curation. Abir Kebir: Writing-review & editing, Validation. Aman Arora: Investigation, Resources.

Funding note

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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