An overview of induced seismicity in the Netherlands

Abstract

We present an overview of induced seismicity due to subsurface engineering in the Netherlands. Our overview includes events induced by gas extraction, underground gas storage, geothermal heat extraction, salt solution mining and post-mining water ingress. Compared to natural seismicity, induced events are usually small (magnitudes ≤ 4.0). However, due to the soft topsoils in combination with shallow hypocentres, in the Netherlands events exceeding magnitude 1.5–2.0 may be felt by the public. These events can potentially damage houses and infrastructure, and undermine public acceptance. Felt events were induced by gas production in the north of the Netherlands and by post-mining water ingress in the south-east. Notorious examples are the earthquakes induced by gas production from the large Groningen gas field with magnitudes up to 3.6. Here, extensive non-structural damage incurred and public support was revoked. As a consequence, production will be terminated in 2022 leaving approximately 800 billion cubic metres of gas unexploited. The magnitudes of the events observed at underground gas storage, geothermal heat production and salt solution mining projects have so far been very limited (magnitudes ≤ 1.7). However, in the future larger events cannot be excluded. Project- or industry-specific risk governance protocols, extensive gathering of subsurface data and adequate seismic monitoring are therefore essential to allow sustainable use of the Dutch subsurface now and over the decades to come.

Trust in institutions and public acceptability of risky energy production: Testing the causal relationships in the context of Groningen earthquakes

“…Natural gas is the most commonly used energy source in the Netherlands for heating houses and water, and to cook (www.aard gas-in-nederland.nl). Most of the gas used by households comes from the Groningen gas field, which has provided the country with approximately 2202 billion Nm 3 (normal cubic meters) of natural gas since its discovery in 1956 (about 62 % of the total cumulative production between 1960 and 2021; [31]). Energy provision from natural gas, however, did not come without costs in the Netherlands.…”

“…Specifically, over the years it has become increasingly evident that natural gas extraction causes seismic activity in the Province of Groningen [32]. According to the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI), between 1986 and 2022 there have been 1839 induced seismic events in the Netherlands 4 about 76 % of them can be attributed to the gas extraction from the Groningen gas field [31]. While most gasquakes have been relatively small in magnitude (i.e., <2.5 on the Richter scale), their negative consequences for local inhabitants have been far from negligible, with estimates suggesting that about 170,000 people have experienced property damage because of the increased seismicity [33].…”

“…We do this by investigating how these relations develop because information from some local seismic networks is not considered by the KNMI. Also, while the majority of events can be associated to natural gas extraction, some of them are likely to be associated with post-mining water ingress instead [31]. over time.…”

Induced aseismic slip and the onset of seismicity in displaced faults

“…The motivation for our paper is to contribute to the understanding of earthquakes that result from the production of hydrocarbons, geothermal operations or the storage of fluids in subsurface reservoirs (Segall, 1989;Suckale, 2009;Elsworth et al, 2016;Muntendam-Bos et al, 2021). Therefore, we investigate the use of (semi-) analytical techniques to describe induced fault slip and their potential for computational purposes.…”

Induced seismicity: a global phenomenon with special relevance to the Dutch subsurface

“…This thematic collection of eight papers comes 5 years after the previous special issue which focused specifically on Groningen. In this collection, you will find an overview of all recorded occurrences of induced seismicity in the Netherlands (Muntendam-Bos et al, 2022). Activities for which seismicity has been observed include gas extraction, underground gas storage, geothermal heat extraction, salt solution mining and post-mining water ingress, with relatively low magnitudes up to 3.6.…”