Patent ID: 8960280
Filing Date: 2015-02-24
Classification: G01V

Abstract:
1. A method for determining fracture plane orientation from seismic signals detected above a subsurface formation of interest, comprising: detecting seismic signals using an array of seismic sensors deployed above the subsurface formation during pumping of a hydraulic fracture treatment of the subsurface formation, the seismic sensors each generating a signal corresponding to seismic amplitude; in a computer, determining a time of origin and a spatial position of origin (hypocenter) of microseismic events resulting from the hydraulic fracture treatment using the detected seismic signals; in the computer selecting time consecutively occurring ones of the hypocenters falling within at least one selected temporal sampling window, the at least one temporal sampling window including at least one of a selected number of consecutively occurring events and a selected length of time; in the computer determining a best fit line through the selected hypocenters using a preselected minimum linear regression coefficient; in the computer repeating the selecting hypocenters and determining best fit lines for additional selected temporal sampling windows; and in the computer, determining spatial orientation of the best fit lines; and in the computer, determining fracture plane orientations from the best fit lines.