Human‐induced seismicity and large‐scale hydrocarbon production in the USA and Canada

摘要: We compare current and historic seismicity rates in six States the USA three Provinces Canada to past present hydrocarbon production. All States/Provinces are major producers. Our analyses span five decades depending on data availability. Total production has significantly increased few years these regions. Increased most areas is due large-scale hydraulic fracturing thus underground fluid injection. Furthermore, generally leads water production, which must be treated, recycled, or disposed of underground. injection enhances likelihood fault reactivation, may affect rates. find that Oklahoma, likely salt-water disposal, an 85% correlation with oil Yet, other do not display State/Province-wide correlations between despite 8–16-fold increases some States. However, various cases, locally increased. Multiple factors play important role determining anthropogenic activities influencing earthquake rates, including (i) near-surface tectonic background rate, (ii) existence critically stressed favorably oriented faults, hydraulically connected wells, (iii) orientation magnitudes situ stress field, combined (iv) volumes implemented depletion strategies. A comparison seismic hazard maps for shows induced less a lower hazard. The opposite, however, necessarily true.