Seismic Situation and Necessity of Local Seismic Monitoring in Exploited Mutnovsky Steam-Hydrothermal Field (Southern Kamchatka, Russia)

Abstract

The seismic conditions of the Mutnovsky geothermal field which is considered a seismoactive zone located in the southeast of Kamchatka was assessed. Two geothermal power plants (12 and 50 MWt) were commissioned in the area 1999 and 2001. The hydrothermal field of the project is close to 2 active volcanoes: Mutnovsky volcano (last eruption was in 2000) and Gorely volcano (last eruption was in 1985-1986). The Kamchatkan earthquakes catalogue recently registered small seismic events immediate to the exploited hydrothermal field. The condition is probably a result of induced seismicity connected with deep drilling and beginning of geothermal field exploitation. At present, the techniques for estimating induced seismicity have not been elaborated yet, whereas damage caused by relatively weak induced earthquakes is becoming more and more significant. So local seismic control is actual.