Abstract
Reservoir compaction, surface subsidence, and induced seismicity are often associated with prolonged hydrocarbon production. Recent experiments conducted on the Groningen gas field's Slochteren sandstone reservoir rock, at in-situ conditions, have shown that compaction involves both poroelastic strain and time independent, permanent strain, caused by consolidation and shear of clay films coating the sandstone grains, with grain failure occurring at higher stresses. To model compaction of the reservoir in space and time, numerical approaches, such as the Discrete Element Method (DEM), populated with realistic grain-scale mechanisms are needed. We developed a new particle-interaction law (contact model) for classic DEM to explicitly account for the experimentally observed mechanisms of nonlinear elasticity, intergranular clay film deformation, and grain breakage. It was calibrated against both hydrostatic and conventional triaxial compression experiments and validated against an independent set of pore pressure depletion experiments conducted under uniaxial strain conditions, using a range of sample porosities, grain size distributions, and clay contents. The model obtained was used to predict compaction of the Groningen reservoir. These results were compared with field measurements of in-situ compaction and matched favorably, within field measurement uncertainties. The new model allows systematic investigation of the effects of mineralogy, microstructure, boundary conditions, and loading path on compaction behavior of the reservoir. It also offers a means of generating a data bank suitable for developing generalized constitutive models and for predicting reservoir response to different scenarios of gas extraction, or of fluid injection for stabilization or storage purposes.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e2021JB021722 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-23 |
| Journal | Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth |
| Volume | 126 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was carried out in the context of a major research program funded by the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM). This program aims to fundamentally improve the understanding of production-induced reservoir compaction and seismicity in the seismogenic Groningen gas field. The authors thank the team at NAM (J. van Elk, D. Doornhof and R. van Eijs) and Shell Global Solutions (S. Hol) for providing data and for valuable discussions, and the authors thank NAM for permission to publish this study. The authors also thank R.P.J. Pijnenburg for providing data and constructive comments. Finally, the authors would like to thank F. V. Donz?, two anonymous reviewers, and the associate editor for their constructive comments that helped increase the quality of this paper.
Funding Information:
This research was carried out in the context of a major research program funded by the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM). This program aims to fundamentally improve the understanding of production‐induced reservoir compaction and seismicity in the seismogenic Groningen gas field. The authors thank the team at NAM (J. van Elk, D. Doornhof and R. van Eijs) and Shell Global Solutions (S. Hol) for providing data and for valuable discussions, and the authors thank NAM for permission to publish this study. The authors also thank R.P.J. Pijnenburg for providing data and constructive comments. Finally, the authors would like to thank F. V. Donzé, two anonymous reviewers, and the associate editor for their constructive comments that helped increase the quality of this paper.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021. The Authors.
Funding
This research was carried out in the context of a major research program funded by the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM). This program aims to fundamentally improve the understanding of production-induced reservoir compaction and seismicity in the seismogenic Groningen gas field. The authors thank the team at NAM (J. van Elk, D. Doornhof and R. van Eijs) and Shell Global Solutions (S. Hol) for providing data and for valuable discussions, and the authors thank NAM for permission to publish this study. The authors also thank R.P.J. Pijnenburg for providing data and constructive comments. Finally, the authors would like to thank F. V. Donz?, two anonymous reviewers, and the associate editor for their constructive comments that helped increase the quality of this paper. This research was carried out in the context of a major research program funded by the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM). This program aims to fundamentally improve the understanding of production‐induced reservoir compaction and seismicity in the seismogenic Groningen gas field. The authors thank the team at NAM (J. van Elk, D. Doornhof and R. van Eijs) and Shell Global Solutions (S. Hol) for providing data and for valuable discussions, and the authors thank NAM for permission to publish this study. The authors also thank R.P.J. Pijnenburg for providing data and constructive comments. Finally, the authors would like to thank F. V. Donzé, two anonymous reviewers, and the associate editor for their constructive comments that helped increase the quality of this paper.
Keywords
- contact model
- digital rock
- discrete element method
- Groningen gas field
- reservoir compaction
- sandstone