Induced seismicity studies within shale gas producing areas of Northeast British Columbia, Canada

Induced seismicity associated with shale gas extraction is an important area of interest these days. Reliable data sets, including past earthquake data and modern three-component broadband seismic information are necessary to address questions regarding linkages between induced seismicity and hydraulic fracturing. Questions such as: (1) are induced earthquakes associated with hydraulic fracturing or with the injection of waste water into deep disposal wells;(2) how large can these events be; (3) is the rate of seismicity (and magnitude) related to the injection pressure and/or the volume of injected fluids; (4) what is the role of local faults and the local stress regime. In NE British Columbia (NE BC) historical earthquake data can provide information on background seismicity. Recently additional seismic stations have been deployed to provide improvements in earthquake monitoring capability. The data collected from this present-day local seismic network, which was installed after hydraulic fracturing commenced, can help to answer the questions on seismicity associated with the fracking processes listed above. Research on induced seismicity in NEBC began in 2012 as a partnership between the Geological Survey of Canada - Pacific, the BC Oil and Gas Commission (BCOGC). Geoscience BC and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP). Geoscience BC and CAPP provided funding to deploy 6 broadband stations in the area. Two additional stations were funded by Natural Resources Canada and an additional station was funded by BCOGC. Preliminary results show an increase in both the number of small earthquake, and a slight increase in the average magnitude of earthquakes, in regions of NEBC experiencing hydraulic fracturing activities. The detection threshold has been lowered from M2.5 to M1.5 since the additional seismometers have been added, resulting in a ten-fold increase in the number of m < 2.5 earthquakes recorded, from 14 events in the period 2009 - 2013 to 186 events from August 2013 to August 2014. In this short presentation some of the preliminary results from this research will be disc.