Stratigraphy-Induced Localization of Microseismicity During CO2
Injection in Illinois Basin
- Nikita Bondarenko,
- Yuri Yurivech Podladchikov,
- Sherilyn Williams-Stroud,
- Roman Y. Makhnenko
Sherilyn Williams-Stroud
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Author ProfileRoman Y. Makhnenko
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, U.S.A.
Author ProfileAbstract
Subsurface fluid injection stimulates complex hydromechanical
interaction, necessitating the integration of geomechanical data across
spatial and temporal scales to consider the sophisticated behavior. The
induced seismic response is usually associated with reservoir
architecture and pre-existing features that are three-dimensional, such
as local stratigraphy, fractures, faults, and discontinuities. This
study encompasses laboratory characterization of coupled hydromechanical
response of rock cores extracted from reservoir - Mt. Simon sandstone,
basal seal - Argenta sandstone, and crystalline basement - Precambrian
rhyolite - formations in the Illinois Basin. High-resolution numerical
modeling allows to consider the three-dimensional complexity of the
injection site for Illinois Basin Decatur Project with spatial
resolution comparable to one of the active seismic surveys. The
laboratory-based porosity-permeability relation is combined with a
three-dimensional porosity distribution developed from an inversion of
active seismic data resulting in a detailed reconstruction of the
evolution of the state of stress in formations where stress measurements
are not performed. It appears that the microseismic clusters, mainly
observed in the crystalline basement during the injection, are linked to
zones experiencing more critically stressed conditions prior to
injection. These zones have a potential for reactivation during the
injection and are attributed to the specific local stratigraphy of the
injection site, as well as transfer of triggering perturbations during
the injection.16 May 2024Submitted to ESS Open Archive 21 May 2024Published in ESS Open Archive