A synthetical geoengineering approach to evaluate the largest hydraulic fracturing-induced earthquake in the East Shale Basin, Alberta

On 2019-03-04,the largest induced earthquake(ML4.18)occurred in the East Shale Basin,Alberta,and the underlying physical mechanisms have not been fully understood.This paper proposes a synthetical geoengineering methodology to comprehensively characterize this earthquake caused by hydraulic fracturing.Based on 3D structural,petrophysical,and geomechanical models,an unconventional fracture model is constructed by considering the stress shadow between adjacent hydraulic fractures and the interactions between hydraulic and natural fractures.Coupled poroelastic simulations are conducted to reveal the triggering mechanisms of induced seismicity.It is found that four vertical basement-rooted faults were identified via focal mechanisms analysis.The brittleness index(BI)along two horizontal wells has a high magnitude(BI>0.5),indicating the potential susceptibility of rock brittleness.Due to the presence of overpressure,pre-existing faults in the Duvernay Formation are highly susceptible to fault reactivation.The occurrence of the earthquake clusters has been attributed to the fracturing fluid injection during the west 38^(th)-39^(th) stage and east 38^(th) stage completions.Rock brittleness,formation overpressure,and large fracturing job size account for the nucleation of earthquake clusters,and unconventional natural-hydraulic fracture networks provide fluid flow pathways to cause fault reactivation.This workflow can be used to mitigate potential seismic risks in unconventional reservoirs in other fields.

A machine learning-based study of multifactor susceptibility and risk control of induced seismicity in unconventional reservoirs

A comprehensive dataset from 594 fracturing wells throughout the Duvernay Formation near Fox Creek, Alberta, is collected to quantify the influences of geological, geomechanical, and operational features on the distribution and magnitude of hydraulic fracturing-induced seismicity. An integrated machine learning-based investigation is conducted to systematically evaluate multiple factors that contribute to induced seismicity. Feature importance indicates that a distance to fault, a distance to basement, minimum principal stress, cumulative fluid injection, initial formation pressure, and the number of fracturing stages are among significant model predictors. Our seismicity prediction map matches the observed spatial seismicity, and the prediction model successfully guides the fracturing job size of a new well to reduce seismicity risks. This study can apply to mitigating potential seismicity risks in other seismicity-frequent regions.

Pore scale performance evaluation and impact factors in nitrogen huff-n-puff EOR for tight oil

Nitrogen huff-n-puff(N_(2)HnP) appears to be an economical and high-efficiency enhanced oil recovery(EOR) technique for tight oil reservoirs.There is however a lack of understanding of the pore-level EOR performance of N2HnP under tight reservoir conditions.In this work,a non-magnetic reactor was created and combined with a nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) device for real-time monitoring of oil distribution in the HnP experiment.N_(2)HnP experiments were then performed in a tight sandstone core sample at a temperature of 353 K and an injection pressure≥ 24 MPa.The pore-level oil distribution under reservoir conditions was monitored and the EOR performance of N2HnP in specific pores was analyzed.The pore throat structures of the core sample and the phase behavior of the N_(2)-Oil system were analyzed to elucidate the EOR mechanism of N_(2)HnP.An oil recovery factor of 37.52% can be achieved after four cycles,which proves the EOR potential of N_(2)HnP for tight reservoirs.The highest recoveries after N_(2)HnP are obtained in the large pores,followed by the medium pores,the small pores,and finally the micro pores.Increases in soaking time and injection pressure resulted in slight and pronounced increases in oil recovery,respectively,both of which are mainly reflected in the first cycle.Specifically,increasing the soaking time only slightly improves the cumulative oil recovery in the small pores while increasing the injection pressure significantly improves the cumulative oil recovery in the small,medium,and large pores simultaneously.However,variations in both injection pressure and soaking time have a negligible effect on the cumulative oil recovery of the micro pores.

Long-term survival after enucleation of a giant esophagea gastrointestinal stromal tumor

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors(GISTs) are rare mesenchymal neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract. Less than 1% occurs in the esophagus. Surgery is the primary treatment for patients with GISTs. We report a29-year-old male was admitted after the detection of a posterior mediastinal mass during work-up with routine examination. He did not have any disease-related symptoms. The physical examination was unremarkable. Chest computed tomographic scan, the barium esophagogram and endoscopic esophageal ultrasound showed benign neoplasm. The patient was performed an enucleation surgery through the right posterolateral thoracotomy. The pathology revealed a 13.0 cm × 12.0cm × 5.0 cm mass. The tumor was CD117(C-kit), PDGFRA and DOG1 positive. These findings were consistent with a GIST of the esophagus. So the diagnosis of GIST of esophagus was confirmed. The pathological diagnosis of low grade of GIST of esophagus was confirmed. The patient has no evidence of recurrence and is in good clinical conditions up-to date, five years after surgery.