Abstract
AbstractThis paper describes a research programme recently initiated at Utrecht University that aims to contribute new, fundamental physical understanding and quantitative descriptions of rock and fault behaviour needed to advance understanding of reservoir compaction and fault behaviour in the context of induced seismicity and subsidence in the Groningen gas field. The NAM-funded programme involves experimental rock and fault mechanics work, microscale observational studies to determine the processes that control reservoir rock deformation and fault slip, modelling and experimental work aimed at establishing upscaling rules between laboratory and field scales, and geomechanical modelling of fault rupture and earthquake generation at the reservoir scale. Here, we focus on describing the programme and its intended contribution to understanding the response of the Groningen field to gas production. The key knowledge gaps that drive the programme are discussed and the approaches employed to address them are highlighted. Some of the first results emerging from the work in progress are also reported briefly and are providing important new insights.
Highlights
As described in numerous previous reports, and in several contributions to the present special issue, the Groningen gas field is one of the largest onshore gas fields in the world
Under aim 5, the multiscale fault strength models obtained from experiments and upscaling relations will be applied in fully dynamic, reservoir-scale geomechanical models to evaluate (a) the conditions under which seismogenic slip can be initiated on faults at the reservoir scale, (b) the rupture area, slip magnitude, stress drop and energy release associated with seismic slip events, and (c) event frequency versus magnitude relationships
A Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM)-funded research programme has been initiated at Utrecht University with the aim of providing a fundamental, physically based understanding and quantitative description of reservoir deformation and fault mechanical behaviour in the Groningen gas field
Summary
As described in numerous previous reports, and in several contributions to the present special issue, the Groningen gas field is one of the largest onshore gas fields in the world. Understanding the form and evolution of such envelopes, the associated stress–strain behaviour, and the dependence of these on porosity, deformation rate and in situ conditions, expressed through appropriate constitutive equations, is crucial for evaluating reservoir rock response to gas production.
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