Water-gas dynamics and coastal land subsidence over Chioggia Mare field, northern Adriatic Sea

Abstract

A major development programme comprising 15 gas fields of the northern Adriatic Sea has recently been submitted to the Ministry of the Environment, VIA Committee for the assessment of the environmental impact, by ENI-Agip, the Italian national oil company. One of the largest reservoirs is Chioggia Mare, located about 10 km offshore of the Venetian littoral, with a burial depth of 1000–1400 m. The planned gas production from this field is expected to impact the shoreline stability with a potential threat to the city of Venice, 25 km northwest of the center of Chioggia Mare. To evaluate the risk of anthropogenic land subsidence due to gas withdrawal, a numerical model was developed that predicts the compaction of both the gas-bearing formations and the lateral/bottom aquifer (water drive) during a 13-year producing and a 12-year post-production period, and the transference of the deep compaction to the ground surface. To address the uncertainty of a few important hydromechanical parameters, several scenarios are simulated and the most pessimistic predictions obtained. The modeling results show that at most 1 cm of land subsidence over 25 years may be expected at the city of Chioggia, whereas Venice is not subject to settlement. If aquifer drawdown is mediated by water injection, land subsidence is arrested 5 km offshore, with the Chioggia littoral zone experiencing a rebound of 0.6–0.7 cm.