Energy Technologies: How They Work and Their Induced Seismicity Potential - Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies - page 61

One reason for the apparent lack of induced seismicity with EOR may be that EOR
operations routinely attempt to maintain the pore pressure within a field at levels near
preproduction pore pressures. This “balance” of the pore pressure means only a minimum
pressure change occurs in the reservoir, reducing the possibility of induced seismic events;
this maintenance of pore pressure is achieved broadly by maintaining balance between the
amount of fluid being injected and the amount being withdrawn. EOR using CO 2 injection
is also considered one form of CCS, a technology under broader development in several
other geological settings as part of the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. CCS is
discussed in detail later in this chapter.
UNCONVENTIONAL OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION INCLUDING SHALE
RESERVOIRS
The permeability of rock in the subsurface varies tremendously (see Figure 2.1). Mud-
stone, siltstone, or shale formations that are high in organic content may contain signifi-
cant amounts of natural gas and oil but have very low permeability; a shale formation that
contains predominantly gas and/or oil is called a shale reservoir. Shales that are actively
drilled for both oil and gas development in the United States are, for example, the Barnett,
Marcellus, Eagle Ford, and Bakken formations (Figure 3.11).
Unlike conventional oil and gas fields, where the hydrocarbons were formed in source
rocks high in organic content and then migrated over geologic time into porous rock such
as sandstones and limestones that serve as the reservoirs today, the hydrocarbons in shales
have developed from and remained for the most part trapped in their original source rock
(organic-rich fine-grained sediments) because of the very low permeability of the shales.
The shale gas resides in the microporosity in the shale layers and is held in place by a
combination of cap rock, adsorption of gas onto the shale grains, and low permeability.
The last of these effects is primarily responsible for the low production rates of drilled
shales before being hydraulically fractured. Hydraulic fracturing creates additional pathways
among the micropores for the gas to flow to the wellbore (see, e.g., NRC, 1996). This type
of hydrocarbon reservoir, which requires additional engineered solutions for extraction of
hydrocarbons, is often called an unconventional reservoir.
Extraction of gas and oil from these unconventional reservoirs has been made fea-
sible through the combined application of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing,
technologies developed by the petroleum industry and through research supported by the
Department of Energy (EIA, 1993, 2011; NETL, 2007; NRC, 2001). Hydraulic fracturing
has been used for over 50 years to stimulate some conventional reservoirs (EIA, 2011) but
is required to produce from low-permeability reservoirs such as shales for which commer-
cially viable technology was developed by Mitchell Energy during the 1980s and 1990s
(EIA, 2011). A large upswing in the use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing