Geomechanical consequences of large-scale fluid storage in the Utsira Formation in the North Sea

Abstract

In this work we look at the geomechanical implications of injecting large volumes of fluid in the Utsira Formation. Our modelling is based on Biot's poroelasticity in combination with one-phase fluid flow. We study four different injection scenarios over 25 year: 1 Mt/year, 10 Mt/year, 100 Mt/year and 1000 Mt/year. We observe that the pore fluid pressure scales with the injection rate. The strain of the Utsira Formation and the related surface uplift can be estimated with simple a 1D model. A particular uncertainty with the modelling is the mechanical properties of the Utsira sand and the cap rock.