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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database
AAPG Bulletin
Abstract
DOI: 10.1306/11122520175
Time-dependence of subsidence above a producing gas reservoir with salt top seal: A finite element
model
study of the role of salt flow
model
study of the role of salt flowGeorge Marketos,1 Taco Broerse,2 Christopher J. Spiers,3 and Rob Govers4
1COWI U.K., London, United Kingdom; [email protected]
2Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands; [email protected]
3Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; [email protected]
4Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Numerous producing and actively subsiding gas fields worldwide have salt top seals, but surface subsidence records exist for very few. This paper summarizes both reservoir pore pressure data and subsidence measurements obtained for a salt-sealed gas field in northern Europe. The data indicate a time dependence in subsidence evolution, with subsidence rates remaining relatively constant, while pore pressure depletion rates decrease. The creep of the thick, overlying salt may play a part in causing this time-dependence. The present work assesses salt creep flow’s role in controlling the evolution of subsidence through finite element models. Salt creep effects are investigated in isolation, and independently of other factors, incorporating uncertainty in salt flow mechanisms and rheology. Comparing
model
results with field subsidence measurements suggests that salt flow can account for part of the time-dependent subsidence observed but cannot fully explain the field data, a finding that is also potentially important for other salt-sealed reservoirs around the world. Another important conclusion of the current study is that additional mechanisms that can lead to time-dependent subsidence must be active in the field studied.
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