Course Description
Induced seismicity is a known hazard for some hydraulic fracturing operations and has become a particular problem in some regions such as the Duvernay and Montney plays. In this course, we present the science of induced seismicity, from fundamental concepts to the latest developments, including case studies, with a particular focus on hydraulic fracturing. Risk management strategies and current regulatory environments will be discussed. We will describe workflows for pre-operational seismic hazard assessment, based on stochastic modelling of planned operations, and how these can be used to inform operations and mitigation plans. Such an assessment includes understanding the geology and geomechanics to inform the modelling approach. Time will be split between lectures, examples and hands-on modelling exercises.
The course will include the following topics with application to induced seismicity: fundamental concepts, passive seismology, microseismic, mechanisms, mitigation techniques, the regulatory environment, geomechanics, modelling and hazard assessment.
Target Audience
The course aims to be of interest to those with little knowledge of the subject to those who already have a good background knowledge. It will introduce the fundamental concepts of the science of induced seismicity, as a new introduction or a useful refresher, and move on to discussing the latest cutting-edge knowledge in the field.
Special Information
We will provide temporarily-licensed copies of our internally-developed software that can be used by students to complete the hands-on exercises that we have planned.
Biography
Thomas Eyre is a research seismologist with over 10 years of experience. He is the CEO of ASEISMIC Solutions Inc. and also holds a Research Associate position at the University of Calgary. He has a PhD in seismology from University College Dublin, Ireland, and has held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Alberta and University of Calgary, where his research has focused on induced seismicity and microseismicity. He has 11 peer-reviewed publications in leading international journals and presented at numerous international conferences and workshops. At ASEISMIC Solutions he focuses on providing integrative solutions for mitigating induced seismicity risk.
Professor David Eaton is a seismologist who has served as the NSERC/Chevron Industrial Research Chair in Microseismic System Dynamics in the Department of Geoscience at the University of Calgary. Together with graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, his work focuses primarily on advancement of research, education and technological innovations in microseismic methods and their practical applications for resource development, with a secondary focus on the deep lithospheric structure of continents. In 2007, he rejoined the University of Calgary as Head of the Department of Geoscience, after an 11-year academic career at the University of Western Ontario. His postdoctoral research experience included work at Arco’s Research and Technical Services (Plano, Texas) and the Geological Survey of Canada (Ottawa). He has over 150 peer-reviewed scientific publications and has recently published a textbook on Passive Seismic Monitoring of Induced Seismicity. His work has been recognized by several major awards including the J. Tuzo Wilson medal from the Canadian Geophysical Union. He is also CTO and cofounder of ASEISMIC Solutions Inc., a university spinoff company.
