Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies

Oil & Natural Gas / Gas Shales / Related Environmental Issues / Environmental Impact

The National Academy of Sciences reports (2013) on earthquakes attributable to human activities that are called induced seismic events or induced earthquakes. In the past several years induced seismic events related to energy development projects have drawn heightened public attention. Although only a very small fraction of injection and extraction activities at thousands of energy development sites in the U.S. have induced seismicity at levels that are noticeable to the public, seismic events caused by or likely related to energy development have been measured and felt in Al, Ar, Ca, Co, Il, La, Mi, Ne, Nv, Nm, Oh, Ok, and Tx.

Anticipating public concern about the potential for energy development projects to induce seismicity, the U.S. Congress directed the U.S. DoE to request that the National Research Council examine the scale, scope, and consequences of seismicity-induced during fluid injection and withdrawal activities related to geothermal energy development, oil and gas development including shale gas recovery, and carbon capture and storage (CCS).

The study was also to identify gaps in knowledge and research needed to advance the understanding of induced seismicity, identify gaps in induced seismic hazard assessment methodologies, and the research to close those gaps, and assess options for steps toward best practices with regard to energy development and induced seismicity potential. Three major findings emerged from the study:

1. The process of hydraulic fracturing a well as presently implemented for shale gas recovery does not pose a high risk for inducing felt seismic events.

2. Injection for disposal of wastewater derived from energy technologies into the subsurface does pose some risk for induced seismicity, but very few events have been documented over the past several decades relative to the large number of disposal wells in operation.

3. CCS, due to the large net volumes of injected fluids, may have potential for inducing larger seismic events.