Published Online: Sep 03 2018
DOI: 10.1002/wene.324
A mechanism for seismicity induced by fluid injection operations is pore pressure increase via a diffusional process (left). This leads to a reduction in the effective normal stress on preexisting faults; allowing frictional resistance to fault sliding to be overcome. This mechanism requires a high permeable pathway from the fluid injection point to the preexisting fault. Even in the circumstances when injection fluids may be hydraulically isolated from any preexisting faults, the fault may be activated through perturbations in the stress field brought about by changes in volume or mass loading transmitted to the fault poroelastically (right: hydraulic fracturing example).