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In-situ strain data from the Groningen gas field published

Good news! 

Distributed Strain Sensing (DSS) data from the Groningen gas field are now published at Yoda data services. On request from the Dutch research community DeepNL, EPOS-NL approached the Groningen field operator (NAM) to publish these data. These are unique data, describing compaction of the reservoir system during production of the seismogenic Groningen gas field. 

The Groningen gas field is the largest gas field in Europe. Gas production in this field has led to seismicity and surface subsidence, both believed to be caused by compaction of the underlying reservoir sandstone. In 2015, the field operator (Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij – NAM) installed a fibre-optic cable in the Zeerijp-3a well, at a true vertical depth of about 2900 to 3200 m, i.e. in and around the gas reservoir. The Zeerijp-3a well is situated in the center of the field, where seismicity (<3.4 M) and subsidence (34 cm) are both greatest. This cable allows real-time, continuous, in-situ monitoring of compaction of the reservoir and over and underlying formations, through the Distributed Strain Sensing (DSS) technique. DSS data (strain-time-depth) obtained from October 2015 to August 2019 are provided by NAM, open access. The data were processed by NAM, as detailed in the reports accompanying the data. The data presented in this data publication were used and analyzed in the research report: “Analysis of and learnings from the first four years of in-situ strain data in Zeerijp-3A” which is provided along with this data publication and is individually, openly accessible at: NAM research reports.

Groningen gas field in the NE Netherlands, and location of the Zeerijp 3a (ZRP-3a) well. After Pijnenburg, et al., 2019, Inelastic deformation of the Slochteren sandstone: Stress‐strain relations and implications for induced seismicity in the Groningen gas field.

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