HPHT Fault Gouge Friction Experiments: Implication for Hydraulic Fracturing Induced Seismicity in the Sichuan Basin

The Sichuan Basin of southwest China is the host to an increasing number of earthquakes potentially linked to hydraulic fracturing of gas shales. The current major target reservoirs are in the lower Silurian Longmaxi formation. We report laboratory shear experiments on simulated Longmaxi shale gouges at high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) that probe the underlying mechanisms controlling injection-induced earthquakes. The frictional strength and stability properties of shale gouges were obtained via velocity-stepping experiments at a confining pressure of 60 MPa, pore fluid pressures spanning 30-55 MPa, and temperatures spanning 30-300℃. We observe a coupled effect of temperature and pore fluid pressure on the shale fault stability. Due to different depositional environments, the mineral compositions of the Longmaxi shales are highly variable. At in-situ conditions, most shale gouges are frictionally strong and exhibit velocity-strengthening response, indicative of fault aseismic slip, except for ~5% of shale gouges showing velocity-weakening behavior and potentially promoting seismic slip. Considering the small proportion of unstable shale gouges and the dense distribution of earthquakes around the injection sites, we highlight the importance of aseismic fault slip that may reactivate adjacent and distal unstable faults and trigger the observed seismicity.