Chapter 2 - Induced Seismicity in Hydrocarbon Fields

Abstract

Over the last few decades, it has become clear that various human activities have the potential to generate seismic activity. Examples include subsurface waste injection, reservoir impoundment in the vicinity of large dams, and development of mining, geothermal or hydrocarbon resources. Recently, induced seismicity has also become a concern in connection with geologic carbon sequestration projects. This study focuses on seismicity induced by hydrocarbon production by summarizing the published case studies and describing current theoretical approaches to model these. It is important to understand the conditions under which hydrocarbon production may lead to seismic activity in order to ensure that they are performed safely. Our knowledge of induced seismicity in hydrocarbon fields has progressed substantially over the last few years owing to more intensive high-quality instrumentation of oil fields and a continuous effort to understand the phenomenon theoretically. However, much of the available literature is dispersed over a variety of journals and specialized reports. This review aims at providing a first step toward making the current knowledge about induced seismicity in hydrocarbon fields more accessible to a broad audience of scientists.