Passive seismic is at least as old as active although the practice was largely confined to academic circles prior to the end of the last century. Energy company interest was spurred with the realization that pressure changes in fluid reservoirs often excite microseismic events that can be mapped in time and space.

Early applications were in the areas of conventional hydrocarbon and geothermal field development. Then along came the shale gale with its explosive expansion of the hydraulic fracturing business and the microseismic monitoring necessary to understand what frac’ing really does. The feedback from microseismic imaging has significantly contributed to the development of improved completion procedures in unconventional wells.

As we digest the massive amount of data that has been collected over the past 20 years, we continue to learn more about frac driven interactions between wells that are especially important as well density increases in maturing fields. We are still learning new ways to use microseismic data in unconventional field development.

In addition, passive seismic methods are finding application in some of the newer energy ventures that have arisen in the last few years; carbon sequestration and enhanced geothermal, in particular. This talk will focus on these latest developments and cast an eye toward where the technology may go.