A team of geoscience researchers in the Virginia Tech College of Science has developed a new theory to explain how and why injection-induced earthquakes continue to occur even when injection rates decline.
A team of geoscience researchers in the Virginia Tech College of Science has developed a new theory to explain how and why injection-induced earthquakes continue to occur even when injection rates decline.
Experts have known since the 1960s that when oilfield wastewater is pumped into the ground with deep injection wells, earthquakes can occur. Over the past decade, injection-induced earthquakes have become regular occurrences throughout oil and gas basins worldwide, particularly in the central United States, and potentially in China and Canada, as well.
Oil and gas production are often accompanied by highly brackish groundwater, also known as oilfield brine. These fluids can be five to six times saltier than seawater, so they are toxic to terrestrial ecosystems and have little beneficial use. As a result, oilfield brine is considered to be a waste product that is disposed of by pumping it back into deep geologic formations.
Read more at Virginia Tech
Photo: In this April 2019 photo, Assistant Professor Ryan Pollyea (standing) teaches undergraduate students about permeability in the lab section of Groundwater Hydrology (GEOS 4804). CREDIT: Virginia Tech
