Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Induced seismicity is the occurrence of earthquakes that are triggered by industrial processes including energy technologies, mining, and reservoir impoundment. In Alberta, triggered seismicity poses a significant and as-yet-unquantified risk to the integrity of major dams and other highly-critical structures. The potential risk arises because new unconventional energy activities, including hydraulic fracture treatments (sometimes called 'fracking') and disposal of production-related fluids, are currently being planned and/or conducted in close proximity (within 10 km) to such facilities. The proposed Collaborative Research and Development project of the University of Western Ontario and the University of Calgary, in Induced Seismicity Processes, is aimed at providing the practical knowledge of how induced seismicity is generated, and how it can be reliably modeled, that is needed by Industry in order to understand induced-seismicity risks and develop mitigation strategies. The overall results of the research will translate into protocols to ensure the safety of critical facilities while allowing, to the extent possible, the extraction of hundreds of millions of dollars in resources that are situated nearby. This research has significant public safety benefits, and is also of key economic importance to Canada's oil and gas industry.