An example of using oil-production induced microseismicity in characterizing a naturally fractured reservoir

Microseismic monitoring was conducted using downhole geophone tools deployed in the Seventy-Six oil field, Clinton County, Kentucky. Over a 7-month monitoring period, 3237 microearthquakes were detected during primary oil production; no injection operations were conducted. Gross changes in production rate correlate with microearthquake event rate with event rate lagging production-rate changes by about 2 weeks. Hypocenters and first-motion data have revealed low-angle, thrust fracture zones above and below the currently drained depth interval. Production history, well logs and drill tests indicate the seismically-active fractures are previously drained intervals that have subsequently recovered to hydrostatic pressure via brine invasion. The microseismic data have revealed, for the first time, the importance of the low-angle fractures in the storage and production of oil in the study area. The seismic behavior is consistent with poroelastic models that predict slight increases in compressive stress above and below currently drained volumes