SHALLOW SEISMICITY AND FLUID EXPLOITATION IN THE NORTHERN BURGOS BASIN (NUEVO LEÓN, MÉXICO)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53555/ephijse.v4i3.179Keywords:
induced seismicity, epicentre, MexicoAbstract
This paper examines the relationships between recent shallow seismicity and exploitation of fluids in the northern Burgos Basin where cumulative seismic events recorded in the State of Nuevo Leon reach a total of 304 earthquakes between 2006 and 2016. In detail, 2 to 5 yearly events occurred from 2006 to 2011; but a later remarkable increase was evident as follows: 89 in 2012, 69 in 2013, 75 in 2014, 31 in 2015 and 27 in 2016. This behavior doesn’t match the random fluctuations from natural seismicity rates. A statistical analysis allowed us to determine that the sequence of earthquakes after 2011 could be related to the activity of exploratory wells in the Burgos Basin, which were drilled down to the Pimienta (Upper Jurassic) and Agua Nueva (Upper Cretaceous) shale gas plays. The epicenters located in the State of Nuevo Leon, in the municipalities of China, General Terán, Montemorelos and Los Ramones, were associated with the Upper Jurassic Pimienta and Upper Cretaceous Agua Nueva shale gas fields. Only 17 earthquakes had magnitudes ranging from 4.0 - 4.5 Richter magnitude and those were associated with the exploratory wells Anhelido-1, Arbolero 1, Batial-1, Durian-1, Kernel-1, Mosquete-1, Neritas-1, Nuncio-1, Serbal-1 and Tangram-1. The hypocenters correspond to the depth at which the Pimienta and Agua Nueva Formations lie; hence, sharp changes in the minor shock frequencies were considered as indicators of induced seismicity related to hydraulic fracturing for fluid extraction. The scatterplot of the frequency and magnitude of events for 2009-2014 shows slopes between -7.0963 to -1.1538 that were considerably more negative than the natural seismicity values which span from 0.75 to 0.9. The slopes for 2012, 2013 and 2014 are negatives (-7.0963, -0.3656 and -0.1333), respectively. These dramatic changes in increasing of the minor shock sequences in the Burgos Basin allow us to be considered as indicators of induced seismicity due to fluid exploitation. This interpretation is based on the frequency and magnitude of shocks which achieve values of hydraulic fracturing-induced earthquakes associated with anthropogenic fracking, similar to other seismicity data obtained in different parts of the world where this Technique is applied.
References
. Adushkin V.V., Radionov, V.N and Turuntaev, S. 2000. Oilfield Review of Schlumberger. Nftegasovoye Obozreniye 5 (1): 20-25.
. Ake, J. and Mahrer, K. 2005. Deep-injection and closely monitored induced seismicity at Paradox Valley, Colorado. Bulletin Seismology Society America 95: 664-683. doi: 10.1785/0120040072
. Andrea, L.LL. And Andrews, J.M. 2013. Modeling seismicity rate changes in Oklahoma and Arkansas: possible signatures of induced seismicity. U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, Ca.
. Avouac, J.P. 2012. Earthquakes: Human-induced shaking. Nature Geosciences 5, 763-764. doi: 10.1038/ ngeo1609
. Brodsky, E.E. and Lajoie, L.J. 2013. Anthropogenic seismicity rates and operational parameters at the Salton Sea Geothermal Field. Science 10.1126/science.1239213. doi: 10.1126/science.1239213
. Cantú-Chapa, A. 1971. La Serie Huasteca (Jurásico Medio-Superior) Del Centro-Este de Mexico. Revista Del Instituto Mexicano Del Petróleo 3 (2): 17-40.
. Carrillo, B.J. 1971. La plataforma Valles-San Luis Potosí. Asociación Mexicana de Geólogos Petroleros, Boletin 23 (1): 8-61.
. Coe, A.L. and Church, K.D. 2002. Sequence stratigraphy and sea-level change. In Coe, A.L. (ed.), The sedimentary record of sea-level change: Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, UK): 5795.
. Comision Nacional de Hidrocarburos 2014. www.portal.cnih.cnh.gob.mx
. Committee on Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies, 2012. Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies (National Research Council, Washington, DC); http://dels.nas.edu/ Report/Induced-Seismicity-Potential-Energy-Technologies/13355.
. Chávez-Cabello, G., Cossío-Torres, T. and Peterson-Rodríguez, R.H. 2004. Change of the maximum principal stress during the Laramide Orogeny in the Monterrey salient, northeast México. In Sussman, A.J. and Weil, A.B. (eds.), Orogenic Curvature: Integrating Paleomagnetic and Structural Analyses: Geological Society of America Special Paper, 383: 145-159.
. Davis, S.D. and Pennington, W.D. 1989. Induced seismic deformation in the Cogdell oil field of west Texas. Bull. Seismology Society America 79: 1477-1495.
. Davison, I. 1986. Listric normal fault profiles: calculation using bed-length balance and fault displacement. Journal of Structural Geology, 8 (2): 209-210.
. Deichmann, N. and Giardini, D. 2009. Earthquakes induced by the stimulation of an enhanced geothermal system below Basel (Switzerland). Seismology Research Letters, 80: 784-798. doi: 10.1785/gssrl.80.5.784
. Deng, K.Z., Shiyong, W., Rui, R., Russell, Zhao, C., and Cheng, W. 2010. Evidence that the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake could not have been induced by the Zipingpu reservoir. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 100 (5B): 2805-2814.
. Echánove, E.O. 1976. Geología Del Paleoceno- Eoceno. Cuenca de Burgos. III. Simposio de Geología de subsuelo. Zona Noreste. 50pp.
. Echánove, E.O. 1986. Geología petrolera de la Cuenca de Burgos. Parte I. Consideraciones Geológico-petroleras: Boletín de la Asociación Mexicana de Geólogos Petroleros, 38 (1): 3-39.
. Eguiluz de Antuñano, S. 2011a. Estratigrafía, análisis de secuencias y control estructural en la Formacion Yegua, Cuenca de Burgos, noreste de México. Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana, 63, (2): 171-181.
. Eguiluz de Antuñano, S. 2011b. Sinopsis geológica de la Cuenca de Burgos, noreste de México: producción y recursos petroleros. Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana, 63, (2): 323-332
. Ellsworth, W.L. 2013. Injection-induced earthquakes. Science. 83: 250-260.
. Ellsworth, W.L. Llenos, A.L., McGarr, A.F., Michael, A.J. Rubinstein, J.L., Mueller, C.S., Petersen, M.D., and Calais, E. 2015. Increasing seismicity in the U.S. midcontinent: Implications for earthquake hazard. The Leading Edge, Special Section: Injection-induced seismicity, 618-626. DOI: 10.1190/tle34060618.1
. Eagle Ford Consortium 2014. Shale gas in Mexico. Binational Center Library / Texas A&M International University. PPT presentation. 18pp.
. Evans, K. F., Zappone, A. Kraft, T. Deichmann, N. and Moia F. 2012. A survey of the induced seismic responses to fluid injection in geothermal and CO2 reservoirs in Europe. Geothermics 41: 30–54 (2012). doi: 10.1016/j.geothermics.2011.08.002
. Fitz-Diaz, E., Hudleston, P., Siebenaller, L., Kirschner, D., Camprubí, A., Tolson, G. and Pi, T.P. 2011. Insights into fluid flow and water rock interaction during deformation of carbonate sequences in the Mexican fold-thrust belt: Journal of Structural Geology, 33: 1237-1253.
. Folger, P. and Tiemann, M. 2016. Human-Induced Earthquakes from Deep-Well Injection: A Brief Overview. Congressional Research Service 7-5700, www.crs.gov, R43836:
. Frohlich, C. 2012. Two-year survey comparing earthquake activity and injection-well locations in the Barnett Shale, Texas. Proceeding Natural Academy Sciences U.S.A. 109: 13934-13938. doi: 10.1073/ pnas.1207728109.
. Frohlich, C. and Davis, S.D. 2002, Texas earthquakes. in: Flawn, P.T., Endowment in Natural Resource Management and Conservation, no 2, University of Texas Press, 275 pp., ISBN: 0-292-72551-5
. Gahalaut, K. and Gahalaut, V.K. 2010. Effect of the Zipingpu reservoir impoundment on the occurrence of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and local seismicity. Geophysical Journal International, 181 (1): 277-285.
. Galván-Ramírez, I.N. and Montalvo-Arrieta, J.C. 2008. The historical seismicity and prediction of ground motion in northeast Mexico. Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 25: 37-48.
. García-Acosta, V. y Suárez-Reynoso, G. 1996. Los sismos en la historia de México: México, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México: 718 pp.
. Gómez-Arredondo, C.M., Montalvo-Arrieta, J.C., Iglesias-Mendoza, A., Espindola-Castro, V.H., 2016. Relocation and seismotectonic interpretation of the seismic swarm of August – December of 2012 in the Linares area, northeastern Mexico, Geofisica International, 55-2, 95-106.
. González, P.J., Tiampo, K.F. Palano, M. Cannavó, F. and Fernández, J. 2012. The 2011 Lorca earthquake slip distribution controlled by groundwater crustal unloading. Natural Geosciences. 5: 821-825. doi: 10.1038/ngeo1610
. Green, C.A. and Styles, P. 2012. Preese Hall shale gas fracturing: Review and recommendations for induced seismicity mitigation. www.gov.uk/government/uploads/ system/uploads/ attachment_ data/file/15745/5075-preese-hall-shale-gas-fracturing-review.pdf.
. Gupta, H. 2002. A review of recent studies of triggered earthquakes by artificial water reservoirs with special emphasis on earthquakes in Koyna, India. Earth Sciences Review, 58: 279-310. doi: 10.1016/S0012- 8252(02)00063-6
. Gutenberg, B. and Richter, C.F., 1956. Magnitude and Energy of Earthquakes. Annali di Geofisica, 9: 1-15
. Hacker, B.R. 1997. Diagenesis and fault valve seismicity of crustal faults. Journal of Geophysical Research, 102 (B11): 24,459-24,467.
. Healy, J.H., Rubey, W.W., Griggs, D.T. and Raleigh, C.B. 1968. The Denver earthquakes. Science 161: 1301-1310.
. Hernández-Mendoza, J.J., DeAngelo, M.V., Wawrzyniec, T.F. and Hentz, T.F. 2008. Major structural elements of the Miocene section, Burgos Basin, northeastern Mexico. American Association of Petroleum Geologist, Bulletin, 92 (11): 1479-1499.
. Herrmann, R.B. and Park, S.K. 1981. The Denver earthquakes of 1967-1968. Bulletin Seismological Society of America 71: 731-745.
. Hornbach, M.J., DeShon, H.R., Ellsworth, W.L., Stump, B.W., Hayward, Ch., Frohlich, C., Oldham, H.R, Olson, J.E., Magnani, M.B., Brokaw, C. and Luetgert, J.H. 2015. Causal factor for seismicity near Azle, Texas. Nature Communications 6. Article Number 6728.
. Holland, A. 2013. Earthquakes triggered by hydraulic fracturing in south-central Oklahoma. Bull. Seismological Society of America 103: 1784-1792.
. Horton, S. 2012. Disposal of hydrofracking waste fluid by injection into subsurface aquifers triggers earthquake swarm in central Arkansas with potential for damaging earthquake. Seismological Research Letters 83: 250-260. doi: 10.1785/gssrl.83.2.250
. Hubbert, M.K. and Rubey, W.W. 1959. Role of fluid pressure in mechanics of overthrust faulting. Geological Society of America, Bulletin 70: 115-206.
. Ikari, M.J., Marone, C., Saffer, D.M. and Kopf, A.J. 2013. Slip weakening as a mechanism for slow earthquakes. Nature Geosciences, 6: 468-472.
. Johann. L., Shapiro. S.A, Dinske C. (2018).The surge of earthquakes in Central Oklahoma has of reservoir-induced seismicity. Scientific Reports. (2018) 8:11505. Doi: 10.1038/s41598-01829883-9
. Keranen, K.M., Savage, H.M. Abers, G.A., and Cochran E.S. 2013a. Potentially induced earthquakes in Oklahoma, USA: Links between wastewater injection and the 2011 Mw 5.7 earthquake sequence. Geology 41: 699-702. doi: 10.1130/G34045.1
. Keranen, K.M., Savage, H.M., Abers, G.A. and Cochran, E.S. 2013b. Potentially induced earthquakes in Oklahoma, USA: links between wastewater injection and the 2011 Mw 5.7 earthquake sequence. U.S. Geological Survey (Pasadena, California), 50pp.
. Keranen, K., Weingarten, M. and Abers, G. 2014. Sharp increase in central Oklahoma seismicity since 2008 induced by massive wastewater injection. Science 345: 448-451.
. Kerr, R.A. and Stone, R. 2009.A human trigger for the great quake of Sichuan? Science 313 (5912): 322 p. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.323.5912.322)
. Kim, W.-Y. 2013. Induced seismicity associated with fluid injection into a deep well in Youngstown, Ohio. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth, 118 (7): 3506-3518.
. Marone, C. 1998. Laboratory-derived friction laws and their application to seismic faulting. Annual Review Earth Planetary Sciences, 26: 643-696
. Mazzotti, S. 2007. Geodynamic models for earthquake studies in intraplate North America, in Stein, S. and Mazzotti, S. (eds.), Continental Intraplate Earthquakes: Science, Hazard, and Policy Issues: Geological Society of America Special Paper, 425: 17-33.
. McGarr, A. 2014. Maximum magnitude earthquakes induced by fluid injection. Journal of Geophysical Research 119 (2): 1008-1019.
. McGarr, A., Simpson, D. and Seeber, L. 2002. Case histories of induced and triggered seismicity. International Handbook of Earthquake and Engineering Seismology (Academic Press, Waltham, MA), vol. 8, chap. 40.
. McGarr, A., Simpson, D. and Seeber, L. 2015. Coping with Earthquakes Induced by fluid Injection. Science, 20 February, 347: 830-831, doi:10.1126/science.aaa0494
. Montalvo-Arrieta, J.C. 2009. Informe de sismos en el estado de Nuevo León (14, 20 y 21 de junio 2009): Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias de la Tierra. Informe Interno, 14 pp.
. Montalvo-Arrieta, J.C., Ramos-Zúñiga, L.G., Navarro de León, I., Ramírez-Fernández, J.A. 2011. Una aproximación a la regionalización sísmica Del estado de Nuevo León, basada en velocidades de propagación de ondas de corte y geología. Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana 63 (2): 217-233.
. Murray, J. and Hitzman, J. 2013. Induced seismicity potential in energy technologies. The National Academic Pres (Washington. D.C.): 70pp.
. Nicholson, C. and Wesson, R.L. 1990. Earthquake hazard associated with deep well injection: A report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. U.S. Geological Survey, Bulletin 1951. http://pubs. usgs.gov/bul/1951/report.pdf.
. Pemex 2012. Aceite y gas en lutitas avances en la evaluación de su potencial en México. Pemex Exploración y Producción.
. Pérez-Aquiahuatl, H.Y. 2014. Evaluación del potencial Del pozo A-1 Del play no convencional Jurásico Superior (Formación Pimienta) en la Cuenca de Burgos. Facultad de Ingeniería, UNAM, Thesis Licenciatura: 134pp.
. Petersen, M.D., Mueller, C.S., Moschetti, M.P., Hoover, S.M., Rubinstein, J.L., Llenos, A.L., Ellsworth, W.L., Holland, A.A., and Anderson, J.G. 2015. Incorporating induced seismicity in the 2014 United States National Seismic Hazard Models: Results of 2014 workshop and sensitivity studies: U. S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2015-1070.
. Ponomaryov, V.S. and Tejtelbaum U.M. 1974. Dynamics interactions between earthquakes focuses. In Regional/ Investigations of Seismic Regime (Kishiniov, Moldova), Shtinitsa: 79-92. In Russian.
. Ramos-Zúñiga, L.G., Medina-Ferrusquía, H.C. y Montalvo-Arrieta, J.C. 2012a. Patrones de sismicidad en la curvatura de Monterrey, noreste de México. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas, 29 (2): 572-589
. Ramos-Zúñiga, L.G., Montalvo-Arrieta, J.C., Pérez-Campos, X. and Valdés-González, C. 2012b. Seismic characterization of station LNIG as a reference site in Northeast Mexico: Geophysical International, 51(2): 185-195.
. Rex C., Buchanan et al. 2014. Induced Seismicity: The Potential for Triggered Earthquakes in Kansas, Kansas Geological Survey, Public Information Circular 36, April 10, http://www.kgs.ku.edu/ Publications/PIC/pic36.html.
. Rodríguez-Cabo, J. 1946. Fenómenos geológicos en General Terán, N.L. Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana, 12: 7- 43.
. Rodríguez-Martínez, J.M. 1985. Areniscas deltaicas en la Formación San Miguel, en la Cuenca de Maverick. International Oil. No. 4. Tulsa, Oklahoma.
. Rodríguez-Martínez, J.M. 2014. Sismicidad en el Estado de Nuevo León. Periódico el Regio.com. Enero de 2104.
. Rodríguez-Martínez, J.M. 2016. Impactos socio ambientales provocados por el fracking en el estado de Nuevo León, México. 27º Congreso Latinoamericano de Hidráulica (Lima, Perú), Memorias.
. Roux, R. y Flores-Torres, O. (Coordinadores) 2015. Los hidrocarburos en el noreste de México. Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas y El Colegio de Tamaulipas: 231pp. ISBN: 978-6077654-73-5
. Rubinstein, J.L. and Ellsworth, W.L. 2013. The 2001 -present triggered seismicity sequence in the Raton basin of southern Colorado/Northern New Mexico. Seismological Research Letters, 84: 374.
. Sadovsky, M.A. and Pissarenko, VF. 1991. Seismic Process in Block. Editorial Nauka (Moscú, Rusia). En ruso.
. Schlumberger 1984. Evaluaciones de formaciones en México. 120p. México.
. Semarnat 2015. Guía de criterios ambientales para la exploración y extracción de hidrocarburos contenidos en lutitas. Dirección General de Energía y Actividades Extractivas. Primera Edición, 61p. México.
. Shelly, D.R., Taira, T., Prejean, S.G., Hill, D.P. and Dreger, D.S. 2015. Fluid-faulting interactions: Fracture-mesh and fault-valve behavior in the February 2014 Mammoth Mountain, California, earthquake swarm. Geophysical Research Letters, 42: 5803-5812.
. Scholz, C.H. 1998. Earthquakes and friction laws. Nature, 391: 37-42.
. Scholz, C.H. 2003. The mechanics of earthquakes and faulting: Cambridge Press, 2nd Edition, 471 pp.
. Scuderi, M.M. and Collettini, C. 2016. The role of fluid pressure in induced vs. triggered seismicity: insights from rock deformation experiments on carbonates. Scientific Reports - 6:24852 | DOI: 10.1038/srep24852.
. SENER 2015. Prospectiva de Petróleo Crudo y Petrolíferos 2015 - 2029. Secretaria de Energía, México: 221pp.
. Shapiro, S.A. and Dinske, C. 2009. Fluid induced seismicity. Pressure diffusion and hydraulic fracturing. 50pp.
. Sibson, R.H. 1986. Brecciation processes in fault zones: inferences from earthquake rupturing. Pure and Applied Geophysics 124, 159-175.
. Sibson, R.H. 2000. Fluid involvement in normal faulting. Journal of Geodynamics 29: 469-499.
. Simpson, D.W. and Leith, W.S. 1988. Two types of reservoir-induced seismicity. Bulletin Seismological Society American 78: 2025-2040.
. Van der Elst, N.J., Savage, H.M., Keranen, K.M. and Abers, G.A. 2013. Enhanced remote earthquake triggering at fluid-injection sites in the midwestern United States. Science 341: 164167.
. Van Eck, T., Goutbeek, F., Haak, H. and Dost, B. 2006. Seismic hazard due to small-magnitude, shallow-source induced earthquakes in The Netherlands. Engineering Geology 87: 105-121. doi: 10.1016/j.enggeo. 2006.06.005
. Wei, G.B. and Froehlich, C. 2013. Gas injection may have triggered earthquakes in the Cogdell Oil Field, Texas. School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 10083 (China) and Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX) 78758-4445.
. Zoback, M.D. 2012. Managing the seismic risk posed by wastewater disposal. Earth Magazine, 57: 38-43.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2018 EPH - International Journal of Science And Engineering (ISSN: 2454 - 2016)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
