Reservoir compaction and land subsidence

Subsurface hydrocarbon removal induces a reservoir compaction that migrates to ground surface and causes the land to subside. While compaction depends primarily on the fluid pore pressure drawdown, the thickness and the mechanical compressibility of the depleted formation, the amount of compaction migrating upward depends on the depth and size of the producing field and the stiffness of the overburden. This paper presents a list of the most famed sites worldwide that have experienced anthropogenic land subsidence because of underground fluid withdrawal and reviews the basic mechanisms controlling the reservoir compaction and the related ground settlement along with some mathematical models that can be effectively used to simulate and predict the occurrence, and the most recent techniques for accurately and timely measuring and monitoring the in situ compaction and the land surface displacements.