Finite element modelling of coupled fluid-flow and geomechanical aspects for the sustainable exploitation of reservoirs: The case study of the cavone reservoir

Abstract

The study of the seismogenic mechanical effects induced by oil & gas activities is a socially impacting issue of environmental engineering as well as a challenging task in computational geomechanics. It requires the solution of a coupled problem governed by poroelastic and fluid flow equations in a faulted domain in the presence of in situ stress fields. As a viable alternative to state-of-the-art academical computational models, the present study contributes a simplified methodology based on a commercial Finite Element multiphysics software. The focus is on the evaluation of the link between the oil & gas activities of the Cavone oilfield reservoir, located in North Italy and adjacent to the Mirandola fault, and the recent seismic sequence that struck Emilia in May 2012. An operational coupled fluid-geomechanical procedure is developed where the Cavone reservoir is subjected to the typical in situ stresses, and the nearby Mirandola fault is modelled as an impervious thin layer.