• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.538-546
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• 2013

This paper deals with a hydraulic fracturing technique, which is one of the methods to maximize the recovery rate and productivity of oil and gas in the petroleum industry. In the hydraulic fracturing, typically water mixed with sand and chemicals is injected into a wellbore in order to create artificial fractures along which formation fluids migrate to the well. In recent years, it is widely used in non-conventional oil and gas such as oil shale and shale gas. Three main stages of the hydraulic fracturing process, the proposed design models for the effective hydraulic fracturing and diagnostics after fracturing treatment are introduced. In addition, this paper introduces reservoir geomechanics to solve various problems in the process of hydraulic fracturing.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.12-29
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• 2019

Permeability and its change due to a fluid injection in jointed rock mass is an important factor to be well identified for a safe and successful implementation of Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS), Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) and Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) projects which may accompany injection-induced hydromechanical deformation of the rock mass. In this technical report, we first reviewed important issues in evaluating initial permeability using borehole hydraulic tests and numierical approaches for understanding coupled hydromechanical properties of rock mass. Recent SIMFIP testing device to measure these hydromechanical properties directly through in-situ borehole experiments was also reviewed. The technical significance and usefulness of the device for further applications was discussed as well.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.12-23
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• 2016

For a successful accomplishment of Carbon Capture Sequestration (CCS) projects, appropriate injection conditions should be designed and optimized for site specific geological conditions. In this study, we evaluated the effect of injection conditions such as injection temperature and injection rate on the geomechanical stability of CCS system in terms of TOUGH-FLAC simulator, which is one of the well-known T-H-M coupled analysis methods. The stability of the storage system was assessed by a shear slip potential of the pre-existing fractures both in a reservoir and caprock, expressed by mobilized friction angle and Mohr stress circle. We demonstrated that no tensile fracturing was induced even in the cold CO2 injection, where the injected CO2 temperature is much lower than that of the reservoir and tensile thermal stress is generated, but shear slip of the fractures in the reservoir may occur. We also conducted a scenario analysis by varying injected CO2 volume per unit time, and found out that it was when the injection rate was decreasing in a step-wise that showed the least potential of a shear slip.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.57-69
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• 2023

In this study, we simulated induced seismicity in the Groningen natural gas reservoir using 2D hydro-mechanical coupled discrete element modelling (DEM). The code used is PFC2D (Particle Flow Code 2D), a commercial software developed by Itasca, and in order to apply to this study we further developed 1)initialization of inhomogeneous reservoir pressure distribution, 2)a non-linear pressure-time history boundary condition, 3)local stress field monitoring logic. We generated a 2D reservoir model with a size of 40 × 50 km² and a complex fault system, and simulated years of pressure depletion with a time range between 1960 and 2020. We simulated fault system failure induced by pressure depletion and reproduced the spatiotemporal distribution of induced seismicity and assessed its failure mechanism. Also, we estimated the ground subsidence distribution and confirmed its similarity to the field measurements in the Groningen region. Through this study, we confirm the feasibility of the presented 2D hydro-mechanical coupled DEM in simulating the deformation of a complex fault system by hydro-mechanical coupled processes.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.493-505
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• 2013

This numerical study investigates seismicity and fault slip induced by fluid injection in deep geothermal reservoir with pre-existing fractures and fault. Particle Flow Code 2D is used with additionally implemented hydro-mechanical coupled fluid flow algorithm and acoustic emission moment tensor inversion algorithm. The output of the model includes spatio-temporal evolution of induced seismicity (hypocenter locations and magnitudes) and fault deformation (failure and slip) in relation to fluid pressure distribution. The model is applied to a case of fluid injection with constant rates changing in three steps using different fluid characters, i.e. the viscosity, and different injection locations. In fractured reservoir, spatio-temporal distribution of the induced seismicity differs significantly depending on the viscosity of the fracturing fluid. In a fractured reservoir, injection of low viscosity fluid results in larger volume of induced seismicity cloud as the fluid can migrate easily to the reservoir and cause large number and magnitude of induced seismicity in the post-shut-in period. In a faulted reservoir, fault deformation (co-seismic failure and aseismic slip) can occur by a small perturbation of fracturing fluid (<0.1 MPa) can be induced when the injection location is set close to the fault. The presented numerical model technique can practically be used in geothermal industry to predict the induced seismicity pattern and magnitude distribution resulting from hydraulic stimulation of geothermal reservoirs prior to actual injection operation.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.266-275
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• 2012

In this study, a method is devised to implement a supercritical $CO_2$ ($scCO_2$) injection environment on a laboratory scale and to investigate the effects of $scCO_2$ on the properties of rock specimens. Specimens of shale and sandstone normally constituting the cap rock and reservoir rock, respectively, were kept in a laboratory reactor chamber with $scCO_2$ for two weeks. From this stage, a chemical reaction between rock surface and the $scCO_2$ was induced. The effect of saline water was also investigated by comparing three conditions ($scCO_2$-rock, $scCO_2-H_2O$-rock and $scCO_2$-brine(1M)-rock). Finally, we checked the changes in the properties before and after the reaction by destructive and nondestructive testing procedures. The swelling of shale was a main concern in this case. The experimental results suggested that $scCO_2$ has a greater effect on the swelling of the shale than pure water and brine. It was also observed that the largest swelling displacement of shale occurred after a reaction with the $H_2O-scCO_2$ solution. The results of a series of the destructive and nondestructive tests indicate that although each of the property changes of the rock differed depending on the reaction conditions, the $H_2O-scCO_2$ solution had the greatest effect. In this study, shale was highly sensitive to the reaction conditions. These results provide fundamental information pertaining to the stability of $CO_2$ storage sites due to physical and chemical reactions between the rocks in these sites and $scCO_2$.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.399-413
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• 2023

The present study conducted a numerical modeling of CO₂ injection at the Janggi Basin using the TOUGH-FLAC simulator, and examined the hydro-mechanical stability of the aquifer and the fault. Based on the site investigations and a 3D geological model of the target area, we simulated the injection of 32,850 tons of CO₂ over a 3-year period. The analysis of CO₂ plume with different values of the aquifer permeability revealed that assuming a permeability of 10^-14 m² the CO₂ plume exhibited a radial flow and reached the fault after 2 years and 9 months. Conversely, a higher permeability of 10^-13 m² resulted in predominant westward flow along the reservoir, with negligible impact on the fault. The pressure changes around the injection well remained below 0.6 MPa over the period, and the influence on the hydro-mechanical stability of the reservoir and fault was found to be insignificant.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2011

Geothermal energy is believed to be an important source among the renewable energy sources to provide the base load electricity. Although there has been a drastic increase in the use of geothermal heat pump in Korea, there is no geothermal power plant in operation in Korea. Fortunately, the first EGS (Enhanced Geothermal System) Project in Korea has started in Dec 2010. This five year project is divided into two stages; two years for exploration and drilling of 3 km depth to confirm the minimum target temperature of 100 degrees, and another three years composed drilling 5 km doublet, hydraulic stimulation of geothermal reservoir with expected temperature of 180 degrees (40 kg/s) and construction of MW geothermal power plant in the surface. This EGS project would be a landmark effort that invited a consortium of industry, research institutes and university with expertises in the fields of geology, hydrogeology, geophysics, geomechanics and plant engineering.