| Title | Effect of Uncertainty of Geomechanical Properties, Fracture Orientations and In-Situ Stress Conditions on Fault Activation |
|---|---|
| Authors | Souheil M. Ezzedine, Joseph P. Morris, Lee G. Glascoe, Laura Chiaramonte, Tarabay H. Antoun, Walter W. McNab |
| Year | 2011 |
| Conference | Stanford Geothermal Workshop |
| Keywords | fracture orientation, fault activation |
| Abstract | Predicting the ultimate fate of the injected of water or supercritical carbon dioxide in the subsurface for storage or heat extraction involves understanding the interrelationship between multiple processes, such as the hydrological, mechanical and chemical transport of the injected working geofluid. The majority of these processes take place within the fracture and faults which may lead to compromising the integrity of the reservoir. Results, obtained using LDEC, which analyze the coupling of fluid flow and stresses within extensive combined fracture-fault networks are presented. Moreover, subsurface is inheritably heterogeneous and hydromechanical properties can vary spatially from one location to another. Thus, a second analysis has been conducted assuming that the geomechanical properties are randomly generated between both the weak and strong cases. Uncertainty with the fracture network orientation could also impact the large scale response and activation of the faults and thus the integrity of the reservoir, the containment of the working geofluid, the surface deformation and ultimately the fluid-induced seismicity. A third analysis was conducted based on alteration of the orientation of the fracture network from the base case scenario. The resulting effect on the friction and activation conditions along the main faults is assessed. |