Interrelationships among seismic and short-term tectonic activity, oil and gas production, and gas migration to the surface

Kouznetsov, O.L.; Sidorov, Vladimir; Katz, Simon; Chilingarian, George V.

doi:10.1016/0920-4105(94)00058-c

Cited by 18 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Subsurface impacts are related to the effective intergranular stress changes within the injected formation and the sealing caprock, with a risk for the generation of fractures that might increase on one hand the gas injectivity and jeopardize on the other the integrity of the cover [e.g., Rutqvist et al , 2008; Ferronato et al , 2010]. Moreover, existing faults crossing the reservoir might be reactivated, with a possible enhanced microseismic activity [e.g., Segall and Fitzgerald , 1998] and consequent upward gas migration [ Segall and Grasso , 1991; Kouznetsov et al , 1994].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geomechanical response to seasonal gas storage in depleted reservoirs: A case study in the Po River basin, Italy

et al. 2011

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[1] Underground gas storage (UGS) in depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs is a strategic practice to cope with the growing energy demand and occurs in many places in Europe and North America. In response to summer gas injection and winter gas withdrawal the reservoir expands and contracts essentially elastically as a major consequence of the fluid (gas and water) pore pressure fluctuations. Depending on a number of factors, including the reservoir burial depth, the difference between the largest and the smallest gas pore pressure, and the geomechanical properties of the injected formation and the overburden, the porous medium overlying the reservoir is subject to three-dimensional deformation with the related cyclic motion of the land surface being both vertical and horizontal. We present a methodology to evaluate the environmental impact of underground gas storage and sequestration from the geomechanical perspective, particularly in relation to the ground surface displacements. Long-term records of injected and removed gas volume and fluid pore pressure in the "Lombardia" gas field, northern Italy, are available together with multiyear detection of vertical and horizontal west-east displacement of the land surface above the reservoir by an advanced permanent scatterer interferometric synthetic aperture radar (PSInSAR) analysis. These data have been used to calibrate a 3-D fluid-dynamic model and develop a 3-D transversally isotropic geomechanical model. The latter has been successfully implemented and used to reproduce the vertical and horizontal cyclic displacements, on the range of 8-10 mm and 6-8 mm, respectively, measured between 2003 and 2007 above the reservoir where a UGS program has been underway by Stogit-Eni S.p.A. since 1986 following a 5 year field production life. Because of the great economical interest to increase the working gas volume as much as possible, the model addresses two UGS scenarios where the gas pore overpressure is pushed from the current 103%p i , where p i is the gas pore pressure prior to the field development, to 107%p i and 120%p i . Results of both scenarios show that there is a negligible impact on the ground surface, with deformation gradients that remain well below the most restrictive admissible limits for the civil structures and infrastructures. Citation: Teatini, P., et al. (2011), Geomechanical response to seasonal gas storage in depleted reservoirs: A case study in the Po River basin, Italy,

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, existing faults crossing the reservoir might be reactivated, with a possible enhanced microseismic activity [e.g., Segall and Fitzgerald, 1998] and consequent upward gas migration [Segall and Grasso, 1991;Kouznetsov et al, 1994].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geomechanical response to seasonal gas storage in depleted reservoirs: A case study in the Po River basin, Italy

et al. 2011

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“…Other events identified by Hough & Page (2016) likely associated with hydrocarbon production include several events near the Santa Fe Springs oil field (1923, M ∼ 3.5; 1929, M w 5 Whittier event), and felt shocks in the Long Beach and Richfield oil fields, as well as felt events and surface rupture reported in 1926 for the Goose Creek oil field in the USA (Pratt & Johnson, 1926). Throughout subsequent decades, numerous cases of hydrocarbon-depletion-induced seismic events were reported in the literature, up to M > 4. Notable instances include a series of M < 4 near the Wilmington oil field in California (Kovach, 1974;Yerkes & Castle, 1976), seismicity near a number of oil and gas fields in Texas (Pennington et al, 1986;Doser et al, 1991), a number of fields in Russia, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan (Kouznetsov et al, 1995), and the Lacq gas field (M > 4) in southern France (Grasso & Wittlinger, 1990). The first seismic event in the Netherlands was recorded by the Royal Netherlands Meteorologial Institute (KNMI) in 1986.…”

Section: Occurrences Of Depletion-induced Seismicitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Fault reactivation mechanisms and dynamic rupture modelling of depletion-induced seismic events in a Rotliegend gas reservoir

Buijze

Boogert

Wassing

et al. 2017

Netherlands Journal of Geosciences

105

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Understanding the mechanisms and key parameters controlling depletion-induced seismicity is key for seismic hazard analyses and the design of mitigation measures. In this paper a methodology is presented to model in 2D the static stress development on faults offsetting depleting reservoir compartments, reactivation of the fault, nucleation of seismic instability, and the subsequent fully dynamic rupture including seismic fault rupture and near-field wave propagation. Slip-dependent reduction of the fault's strength (cohesion and friction) was used to model the development of the instability and seismic rupture. The inclusion of the dynamic calculation allows for a closer comparison to field observables such as borehole seismic data compared to traditional static geomechanical models. We applied this model procedure to a fault and stratigraphy typical for the Groningen field, and compared the results for an offset fault to a fault without offset. A non-zero offset on the fault strongly influenced the stress distribution along the fault due to stress concentrations in the near-fault area close to the top of the hanging wall and the base of the footwall. The heterogeneous stress distribution not only controlled where nucleation occurred within the reservoir interval, but also influenced the subsequent propagation of seismic rupture with low stresses inhibiting the propagation of slip. In a reservoir without offset the stress distribution was relatively uniform throughout the reservoir depth interval. Reactivation occurred at a much larger pressure decrease, but the subsequent seismic event was much larger due to the more uniform state of stress within the reservoir. In both cases the models predicted a unidirectional downward-propagating rupture, with the largest wave amplitudes being radiated downwards into the hanging wall. This study showed how a realistic seismic event could be successfully modelled, including the depletion-induced stressing, nucleation, dynamic propagation, and wave propagation. The influence of fault offset on the depletion-induced stress is significant; the heterogeneous stress development along offset faults not only strongly controls the timing and location of a seismic slip, but also influences the subsequent rupture size of the dynamic event.

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“…Inasmuch as plastic deformation due to withdrawal of fluids and the resulting compaction (and subsidence) may initiate earthquakes, stresses should be monitored continuously (Kouznetsov et al, 1994). In the case of synsedimentary origin of AHFPs, one should plan proper (as soon as possible) secondary recovery (waterflooding) operations to minimize subsidence at the surface.…”

Section: Maximum Allowable Effective Stress During Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploration and Exploitation in Oil and Gas Fields with Abnormally High Formation Pressures

Belonin

Slavin²,

Chilingar

et al. 2003

Energy Sources

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The present research was undertaken in order to develop a better prediction of abnormally-high formation pressures of different origins and to avoid "condemning" overpressured oil-bearing formations based only on well tests.The authors found that for each formation there is a certain critical effective stress above which the plastic deformation will occur, closing down the avenues (canals, pores, pore throats, fractures, etc.) for the migration of fluids.In the case of synsedimentary origin of abnormally-high pressure (rapid deposition, undercompaction), this critical effective stress 1 can be reached rapidly, as indicated by laboratory compaction tests or a change in the slope of the production versus pressure curves during well tests.On the other hand, in the case of postsedimentary origin of abnormal formation pressure (hydrocarbon generation, upward vertical fluid migration along faults, and expansion of fluids due to an increase in temperature), the preexisting effective stress was lowered due to overpressuring. Compaction tests can help establish the value of this preexisting stress (shale can "remember" its past history). If the existing effective stress is increased due to production and then reaches the critical effective stress, the plastic deformation of reservoir rock will occur upon further increase of the effective stress.

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Interrelationships among seismic and short-term tectonic activity, oil and gas production, and gas migration to the surface

Cited by 18 publications

References 12 publications

Geomechanical response to seasonal gas storage in depleted reservoirs: A case study in the Po River basin, Italy

Geomechanical response to seasonal gas storage in depleted reservoirs: A case study in the Po River basin, Italy

Fault reactivation mechanisms and dynamic rupture modelling of depletion-induced seismic events in a Rotliegend gas reservoir

Exploration and Exploitation in Oil and Gas Fields with Abnormally High Formation Pressures

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