Complexity of Fault Rupture and Fluid Leakage in Shale: Insights from a Controlled Fault Activation Experiment

We observed rupture growth caused by controlled fluid injections at 340-m depth within a fault zone in the low-permeability Opalinus Clay in the Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory (Switzerland). The rupture mechanisms were evaluated using measurements of the three -component borehole wall displacements and fluid pressure in two sections of the fault zone and located horizontally 3 m apart from each other. One section was set across a secondary segment of the fault and used for stepwise fluid injection intended to trigger rupture growth. The other section was set across the principal shear zone of the fault for monitoring. After stepwise pressure increase up to 5.95 MPa at injection, rupture initiated as slip activation, followed by an overall opening of the fault planes connected to the injection. After 19 s of continued injection, displacements arrived at the monitoring point on the principal shear zone. These displacements are about 2.4 times larger than in the secondary fault segment. Overall, the displacements corresponded to a normal fault activation. About 9 s after the displacement front arrived, a strong pressure increase of 4.17 MPa was measured at the monitoring point, indicating a hydraulic connection had formed along the initially very low permeability fault planes between the injection and the monitoring points. Our analyses highlight that the fault activation is consistent with the state of stress but that injection pressure must he close to the normal stress acting on the fault for permeability to he generated and for fluid leakage to occur.