2026-10-07T22:08:46Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33941866 2026-09-21T06:52:55Z category_25870 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Well–fault geometry modulates injection-induced earthquake productivity during horizontal hydraulic fracturing in the Southern Montney Play, Western Canada Peng Zhang (13697890) Bei Wang (25075411) Seismology and seismic exploration Hydraulic-fracturing-induced seismicity Well-fault geometry Earthquake productivity Poroelastic stress transfer Southern Montney Play <p dir="ltr">While fluid injection volume and geological structures are widely recognized as primary controls on induced seismicity during hydraulic fracturing (HF), the specific role of well-fault geometric orientation remains critically underexplored. On 15 February 2023, HF operations in the southern Montney play of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin induced an M_L 3.2 mainshock and an unusually productive foreshock-aftershock sequence near an almost east-west horizontal well. The well trajectory is markedly oblique to the dominant northwest-southeast trend of nearby wells and interpreted faults. To investigate this sequence, we build an enhanced seismic catalog. We then relocate 1,535 events, invert focal mechanisms for events with M_L ≥ 1.5, and estimate corner frequencies and static stress drops. Finally, we invert for the 3-D velocity structure, and simulate pore-pressure and poroelastic stressing with a fully coupled hydromechanical model constrained by injection history and candidate fault geometries. Our results reveal that the mainshock and associated seismicity cluster near a pronounced Vp/Vs gradient zone, delineating a critically stressed, fluid-infiltrated pre-existing fault. Stress-drop patterns and fully coupled hydromechanical simulations indicate sustained post-mainshock fluid migration and stress loading. The oblique well trajectory may have enhanced hydraulic connectivity with the fault, promoting prolonged Coulomb stress loading and contributing to the unusually high earthquake productivity and persistent aftershocks. These results identify well-fault geometry as an important control on induced seismicity and highlight the need to incorporate geometric hydraulic connectivity into seismic-hazard screening alongside operational metrics.</p> 2026-09-21T06:52:55Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.33941866.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Well_fault_geometry_modulates_injection-induced_earthquake_productivity_during_horizontal_hydraulic_fracturing_in_the_Southern_Montney_Play_Western_Canada/33941866 CC BY 4.0