Abstract
The paper presents a multi-physics investigation of the ground movements related to the cyclical and seasonal injection and withdrawal of natural gas in/from a depleted reservoir located in the Po Plain area, Italy. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAr) data (from 2003) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data (from 2008) provided a full and coherent panorama of almost two decades of ground movement in the monitored area (more extended than the field boundary). The analysis of the acquired millimetric-scale movements together with the detailed geological analysis, both at reservoir and at regional scale, represents the focal point for understanding the investigated phenomena. Based on this information, a fully integrated and multidisciplinary geological, fluid-flow and geomechanical numerical modeling approach was developed to reproduce the main geometrical and structural features of the involved formations together with the poromechanics processes induced by the storage operations. The main achievement of the adopted methodology is a deep knowledge of the system and the involved processes, which is mandatory for the safety of the urbanized areas and the effective management of the underground resources.
Highlights
The ground surface movements due to anthropogenic activities, such as underground fluid production/injection, have been deeply investigated by the scientific literature [1,2,3,4], among the others, in potentially critical environments such as high-urbanized areas and costal zones
The present-day architecture of the Po Plain is mainly the result of the Late Messinian–Pleistocene tectonic evolution; the latter led to the development of the Po Plain-Adriatic basin as a shared, complex foredeep separating the converging Southern Alpine and NReomrotthe eSrenns.A20p2e0n, 1n2i,nxeF(OtoR tPhEeERsoRuEtVhI)EcWhains, which locally collided in the Po Plain subsurface (e.g., [276,2o8f 1]
The trap combines the onlap of sand levels and a structural high associated with an NE-verging blind thrust that ends within the Pliocene sequence without propagating up to the Quaternary clastic sequence
Summary
The ground surface movements due to anthropogenic activities, such as underground fluid production/injection, have been deeply investigated by the scientific literature [1,2,3,4], among the others, in potentially critical environments such as high-urbanized areas and costal zones. Seasonal and cyclical withdrawal and injection of gas induce an alike seasonal and cyclical oscillation (subsidence/rebound) of the ground surface, the so-called “earth breathing” phenomenon [12]. The magnitude and the extension of the phenomenon together with its time of occurrence, depend on a large number of factors including: the withdrawal/injection fluid volume and the induced pressure variation, the presence of surrounding aquifers, the depth, shape and volume of the reservoir formation (and its eventual aquifer) together with its petrophysical parameters, and the geomechanical properties of the reservoir and its surrounding formations [13]. The quality and the accuracy of the ground monitoring information can be extremely high if suitable acquisition/interpretation techniques are adopted
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