scholarly journals Incorporating dwelling mounds into induced seismic risk analysis for the Groningen gas field in the Netherlands

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline P. Kruiver ◽  
Manos Pefkos ◽  
Erik Meijles ◽  
Gerard Aalbersberg ◽  
Xander Campman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Seismic Risk ◽  
Site Response ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Fragility Functions ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Amplification Factors ◽  
Reservoir Compaction ◽  
Groningen Gas Field ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn order to inform decision-making regarding measures to mitigate the impact of induced seismicity in the Groningen gas field in the Netherlands, a comprehensive seismic risk model has been developed. Starting with gas production scenarios and the consequent reservoir compaction, the model generates synthetic earthquake catalogues which are deployed in Monte Carlo analyses, predicting ground motions at a buried reference rock horizon that are combined with nonlinear amplification factors to estimate response spectral accelerations at the surface. These motions are combined with fragility functions defined for the exposed buildings throughout the region to estimate damage levels, which in turn are transformed to risk in terms of injury through consequence functions. Several older and potentially vulnerable buildings are located on dwelling mounds that were constructed from soils and organic material as a flood defence. These anthropogenic structures are not included in the soil profile models used to develop the amplification factors and hence their influence has not been included in the risk analyses to date. To address this gap in the model, concerted studies have been identified to characterize the dwelling mounds. These include new shear-wave velocity measurements that have enabled dynamic site response analyses to determine the modification of ground shaking due to the presence of the mound. A scheme has then been developed to incorporate the dwelling mounds into the risk calculations, which included an assessment of whether the soil-structure interaction effects for buildings founded on the mounds required modification of the seismic fragility functions.

scholarly journals New approaches in experimental research on rock and fault behaviour in the Groningen gas field

2017 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. s55-s69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Spiers ◽  
Suzanne J.T. Hangx ◽  
André R. Niemeijer
Keyword(s):  
Research Programme ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Reservoir Rock ◽  
Fault Mechanics ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Reservoir Compaction ◽  
First Results ◽  
Experimental Rock ◽  
Earthquake Generation ◽  
Groningen Gas Field

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.

scholarly journals Probabilistic earthquake locations of induced seismicity in the Groningen region, the Netherlands

2020 ◽  
Vol 222 (1) ◽  
pp. 507-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan D Smith ◽  
Robert S White ◽  
Jean-Philippe Avouac ◽  
Stephen Bourne
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Depth Distribution ◽  
Velocity Model ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Arrival Times ◽  
S Waves ◽  
Reservoir Compaction ◽  
Earthquake Locations ◽  
Projection Techniques

SUMMARY The Groningen gas reservoir, situated in the northeast of the Netherlands, is western Europe’s largest producing gas field and has been in production since 1963. The gas production has induced both subsidence and seismicity. Seismicity is detected and located using the Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut shallow-borehole array for the period 2015–2017, incorporating the back projection techniques of QuakeMigrate and the nonlinear location procedure to constrain earthquake locations and depths. The uncertainties on the estimated depths are estimated taking into account velocity model, changes in station array geometry and uncertainties in the measurement of arrival times of the P and S waves. We show that the depth distribution of seismicity is consistent with nucleation within the reservoir (28 per cent) or in the overburden (60 per cent) within ∼500 m from the top of the reservoir. Earthquakes with hypocentres in the overburden likely originate from overlying Zechstein anhydrite caprock. Based on their depth distribution, it seems like the earthquakes are primarily driven by the elastic strain in the reservoir and overburden, induced by the reservoir compaction. We estimate the probability of earthquakes nucleating beneath the reservoir in the underlying Carboniferous limestone and basement, to be no more than 12 per cent.

scholarly journals Geoperspective Oil and Gas in the Netherlands – Is there a future?

2010 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Herber ◽  
J. de Jager
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Near Field ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Coal Bed ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Risk Increase ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe impact of oil and, in particular, gas fields discovered in the Dutch subsurface has been very significant. However, 50 years after the discovery of the giant Groningen gas field the Netherlands has become very mature for exploration of oil and gas, and the gas volume left to be discovered in conventional traps is insignificant compared to what has been found already. The total portfolio of conventional prospects held by the industry contains several 100s of billions of cubic metres (bcm), as reported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, but many of these prospects are unattractive to drill because of their small size or other geologically unfavourable aspects. Hence, for planning purposes of future national gas production the risk should be taken into account that the size of the conventional portfolio is overestimated. The major E&P companies have reduced their exploration efforts and the number of wells drilled as well as the size and total volume of discovered gas reserves has seen a steady decline over the last 10 years. Some surprises may still be in store and can occasionally add a welcome addition of gas. But the follow-up potential of new play and trapping concepts has been disappointing for many years now, and it is concluded that this is unlikely to be different in the future. Remaining conventional discoveries will mainly be in small near-field targets that as a result of technological advances made in the last few decades can be drilled with high confidence, despite their small volumes.This leaves the so-called unconventional gas (UG) resources for a real and significant increase in the exploration potential of the Netherlands. UG resources occur outside conventional structural or stratigraphic traps in tight (low permeability) rocks and are of regional or sub-regional extent, without well-defined hydrocarbon-water contacts. The potential for Basin Centred Gas, Shale Gas and Coal Bed Methane is reviewed. As, according to present-day technology, development of UG requires very dense drilling at low costs with well spacing of a few 100s of metres, only the onshore potential can be commercial, even in the longer term.Recent geological uplift is a characteristic for all North American commercial UG developments. Uplift helps bringing the resources close to the surface and facilitates development of fractures, which are essential for achieving commercial flow rates. This significantly reduces the area where commercial UG resources may occur in the Netherlands. In addition, sweet spots, where commercial flow rates and ultimate recovery per well can be achieved, represent only a fraction of the total ‘play area’. The UG plays in the Dutch subsurface remain to be proven, and there is still a significant technical risk associated with these plays, on top of the commercial risk. Therefore, despite potentially enormous in-place gas volumes in these unconventional plays, recoverable volumes are much less. If UG resources can be proven and are commercially developable, their cumulative volume potential is estimated by us in the order of a few tens to one or two hundreds bcm of recoverable gas at best. Finally, as UG resources produce at very low rates and require large numbers of wells to develop, the environmental impact in a densely populated country like the Netherlands is enormous, and needs to be seriously considered, already in the exploration phase.In a mature area like the Netherlands, industry focus should be on technology development to reduce risk, increase recovery, reduce cost and minimize surface impact. Cooperation between Operators to build multi-well campaigns is therefore strongly recommended to reduce mobilisation cost. In addition, government incentives should be targeted at the development phase, in order to increase economic attractiveness for difficult reservoirs, both conventional and unconventional. In this way State and industry will both be able to maximize their returns on the remaining potential for gas and oil in the next two to three decades.

scholarly journals Field-wide reservoir compressibility estimation through inversion of subsidence data above the Groningen gas field

2017 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. s117-s129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob M.H.E. van Eijs ◽  
Onno van der Wal
Keyword(s):  
Induced Seismicity ◽  
Surface Deformation ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Reservoir Compaction ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Seismological Model ◽  
Groningen Gas Field ◽  
Deformation Measurements

AbstractNot long after discovery of the Groningen field, gas-production-induced compaction and consequent land subsidence was recognised to be a potential threat to groundwater management in the province of Groningen, in addition to the fact that parts of the province lie below sea level. More recently, NAM's seismological model also pointed to a correlation between reservoir compaction and the observed induced seismicity above the field. In addition to the already existing requirement for accurate subsidence predictions, this demanded a more accurate description of the expected spatial and temporal development of compaction.Since the start of production in 1963, multiple levelling campaigns have gathered a unique set of deformation measurements used to calibrate geomechanical models. In this paper we present a methodology to model compaction and subsidence, combining results from rock mechanics experiments and surface deformation measurements. Besides the optical spirit-levelling data, InSAR data are also used for inversion to compaction and calibration of compaction models. Residual analysis, i.e. analysis of the difference between measurement and model output, provides confidence in the model results used for subsidence forecasting and as input to seismological models.

scholarly journals Development of statistical geomechanical models for forecasting seismicity induced by gas production from the Groningen field

2017 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. s175-s182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Bourne ◽  
Stephen J. Oates
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Event ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Reservoir Compaction ◽  
Hazard And Risk ◽  
Hazard And Risk Assessment ◽  
Event Rates ◽  
Semi Empirical ◽  
Seismological Model ◽  
Groningen Gas Field

AbstractThis paper reviews the evolution of a sequence of seismological models developed and implemented as part of a workflow for Probabilistic Seismic Hazard and Risk Assessment of the seismicity induced by gas production from the Groningen gas field. These are semi-empirical statistical geomechanical models derived from observations of production-induced seismicity, reservoir compaction and structure of the field itself. Initial versions of the seismological model were based on a characterisation of the seismicity in terms of its moment budget. Subsequent versions of the model were formulated in terms of seismic event rates, this change being driven in part by the reduction in variability of the model forecasts in this domain. Our approach makes use of the Epidemic Type After Shock model (ETAS) to characterise spatial and temporal clustering of earthquakes and has been extended to also incorporate the concentration of moment release on pre-existing faults and other reservoir topographic structures.

scholarly journals Inversion of double-difference measurements from optical levelling for the Groningen gas field

2015 ◽  
Vol 372 ◽  
pp. 375-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Fokker ◽  
K. Van Thienen-Visser
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Surface Subsidence ◽  
Double Difference ◽  
Gas Reservoir ◽  
Height Difference ◽  
Linear Inversion ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Reservoir Compaction ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Groningen Gas Field

Abstract. Hydrocarbon extraction lead to compaction of the gas reservoir which is visible as subsidence on the surface. Subsidence measurements can therefore be used to better estimate reservoir parameters. Total subsidence is derived from the result of the measurement of height differences between optical benchmarks. The procedure from optical height difference measurements to absolute subsidence is an inversion, and the result is often used as an input for consequent inversions on the reservoir. We have used the difference measurements directly to invert for compaction of the Groningen gas reservoir in the Netherlands. We have used a linear inversion exercise to update an already existing reservoir compaction model of the field. This procedure yielded areas of increased and decreased levels of compaction compared to the existing compaction model in agreement with observed discrepancies in porosity and aquifer activity.

scholarly journals Drill core from seismically active sandstone gas reservoir yields clues to internal deformation mechanisms

Geology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Berend A. Verberne ◽  
Suzanne J.T. Hangx ◽  
Ronald P.J. Pijnenburg ◽  
Maartje F. Hamers ◽  
Martyn R. Drury ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microstructural Analysis ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Drill Core ◽  
Gas Reservoir ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Reservoir Compaction ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Forecasting System ◽  
Internal Deformation ◽  
Dauphiné Twinning

Europe’s largest gas field, the Groningen field (the Netherlands), is widely known for induced subsidence and seismicity caused by gas pressure depletion and associated compaction of the sandstone reservoir. Whether compaction is elastic or partly inelastic, as implied by recent experiments, is a key factor in forecasting system behavior and seismic hazard. We sought evidence for inelastic deformation through comparative microstructural analysis of unique drill core recovered from the seismogenic center of the field in 2015, 50 yr after gas production started, versus core recovered before production (1965). Quartz grain fracturing, crack healing, and stress-induced Dauphiné twinning are equally developed in the 2015 and 1965 cores, with the only measurable effect of gas production being enhanced microcracking of sparse K-feldspar grains in the 2015 core. Interpreting these grains as strain markers, we suggest that reservoir compaction involves elastic strain plus inelastic compression of weak clay films within grain contacts.

scholarly journals An integrated shear-wave velocity model for the Groningen gas field, The Netherlands

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 3555-3580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline P. Kruiver ◽  
Ewoud van Dedem ◽  
Remco Romijn ◽  
Ger de Lange ◽  
Mandy Korff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Shear Wave ◽  
Wave Velocity ◽  
Shear Wave Velocity ◽  
Velocity Model ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Groningen Gas Field

scholarly journals Compaction and subsidence of the Groningen gas field in the Netherlands

2015 ◽  
Vol 372 ◽  
pp. 367-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. van Thienen-Visser ◽  
J. P. Pruiksma ◽  
J. N. Breunese
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Time Decay ◽  
Good Match ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Decay Model ◽  
Groningen Gas Field ◽  
Rate Type

Abstract. The Groningen gas field in the Netherlands is Europe's largest gas field. It has been produced since 1963 and production is expected to continue until 2080. The pressure decline in the field causes compaction in the reservoir which is observed as subsidence at the surface. Measured subsidence is characterized by a delay at the start of production. As linear compaction models cannot explain this behavior, alternative compaction models (e.g. Rate Type Compaction Model and Time Decay model) have been investigated that may explain the measured subsidence. Although the compaction models considered in this study give a good match to this delay, their forecasts are significantly different. Future measurements of subsidence in this area will indicate which type of compaction model is preferred. This will lead to better forecasts of subsidence in future. The pattern of over- and underestimation of the subsidence is similar for the compaction models investigated and tested. The pattern can be explained by differences in modeled porosity and aquifer activity illustrating the improvement of subsurface knowledge on the reservoir using subsidence measurements.

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