Influence of Structural Symmetry of Fault Zones on Fluid-Induced Fault Slips and Earthquakes

Zhiyong Niu, Bing Bai

Abstract

Subsurface fluid injection and extraction can reactivate faults and induce earthquakes. In current research, faults are typically described as symmetrical structures and the presence of asymmetric structures is often overlooked. The reality is that numerous asymmetric faults exist within the Earth’s crust. The architectural and permeability characteristics of fault zones differ significantly between symmetrical and asymmetrical faults. These differences may have a great influence on fault stability during fluid injection or extraction. In this study, the impact of fault zone structures on fluid-induced slips and seismic activity were investigated through numerical analysis. The findings indicated that symmetrical faults were more likely to induce larger slips and earthquakes during various subsurface fluid operations. For asymmetric faults, larger induced slips occurred when fluid was operated in a hanging wall reservoir than in a footwall reservoir. In symmetrical faults, the opposite was true. When evaluating the stability of a fault in subsurface fluid engineering, the fault structure and fluid pattern and their combined effects must be considered comprehensively.

Keywords: 

fault zone; fault slip; fluid injection–production; asymmetric fault; symmetrical fault; induced earthquake

Influence of Structural Symmetry of Fault Zones on Fluid-Induced Fault Slips and Earthquakes