Unconventional petroleum development involving large volume fluid injection into horizontal well bores, referred to as hydraulic fracturing (HF, or fracking), began in the Montney Trend of northeast British Columbia, ...Unconventional petroleum development involving large volume fluid injection into horizontal well bores, referred to as hydraulic fracturing (HF, or fracking), began in the Montney Trend of northeast British Columbia, Canada, in 2005, quickly initiating earthquakes. Earthquake frequency increased substantially in the Montney by 2008, in relation to the number of wells fracked and the volume of injected frack water. A spatiotemporal filter was used to associate earthquakes with HF wells. A total of 439 earthquakes (</span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">M</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> 1.0 - 4.6 (NRCAN catalogue) during 2013-2019 have close association with HF activity, of which 77% are associated with three operators. Fifteen percent of HF wells in the Montney are associated with these earthquakes, while 1.7% of HF wells are associated with </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">M</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> ≥ 3.0 earthquakes. There are strong linear relationships between the maximum earthquake magnitude each year and the annual volume of injected frack fluid. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">M</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> ≥ 3.0 earthquakes are associated with large cumulative frack water volumes for antecedent time periods of 1 - 3 years, often with fluid injection by multiple operators. Eighty-seven percent of the Montney </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">M</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> ≥ 3.0 earthquakes have associated HF triggering events, but a few are sufficiently distant to be ambiguous. Distances from the induced earthquake epicentres indicate a variety of causal mechanisms are involved. It is concluded that ~60% - 70% of </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">M</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> ≥ 3.0 earthquakes are induced by hydraulic fracturing. HF-induced earthquakes can be considered in part related to the cumulative development density from multiple proximal operators and cu展开更多
文摘Unconventional petroleum development involving large volume fluid injection into horizontal well bores, referred to as hydraulic fracturing (HF, or fracking), began in the Montney Trend of northeast British Columbia, Canada, in 2005, quickly initiating earthquakes. Earthquake frequency increased substantially in the Montney by 2008, in relation to the number of wells fracked and the volume of injected frack water. A spatiotemporal filter was used to associate earthquakes with HF wells. A total of 439 earthquakes (</span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">M</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> 1.0 - 4.6 (NRCAN catalogue) during 2013-2019 have close association with HF activity, of which 77% are associated with three operators. Fifteen percent of HF wells in the Montney are associated with these earthquakes, while 1.7% of HF wells are associated with </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">M</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> ≥ 3.0 earthquakes. There are strong linear relationships between the maximum earthquake magnitude each year and the annual volume of injected frack fluid. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">M</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> ≥ 3.0 earthquakes are associated with large cumulative frack water volumes for antecedent time periods of 1 - 3 years, often with fluid injection by multiple operators. Eighty-seven percent of the Montney </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">M</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> ≥ 3.0 earthquakes have associated HF triggering events, but a few are sufficiently distant to be ambiguous. Distances from the induced earthquake epicentres indicate a variety of causal mechanisms are involved. It is concluded that ~60% - 70% of </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">M</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> ≥ 3.0 earthquakes are induced by hydraulic fracturing. HF-induced earthquakes can be considered in part related to the cumulative development density from multiple proximal operators and cu
