Revealing an optimal geothermal development strategy attempt with long-term sustainability (upcoming 100 years) based on a real 3D model derived from seismic data is considered one of the main contributions of this research study. The heat extraction and thermal recharge of the reservoir must be in balance to extend the productive lifetime of the Koekoekspolder field system. Based on the best results obtained among different unconventional thermal development approaches, the best locations for the new production wells or extra geothermal doublets as well as the timing, injection temperatures, and rate at which the doublets operate are determined. The best strategy to develop the Koekoekspolder field can be achieved by several steps such as understanding the reservoir properties such as the sedimentary facies, porosity, and permeability distribution by analyzing the literature studies and the static model that simulates the Slochteren formation using Petrel software based on the seismic and log data available followed by a dynamic model that mimics the flow of the hot aquifer inside the reservoir using Eclipse 300 software. Both static and dynamic models must be calibrated by the accessible production data to decrease inaccuracy. The thermal boundaries that are taken into consideration for the koekoekspolder field are not mere confining layers. The workflow of this research study ensures a high degree of realism in terms of the input data and output information of the thermal model of the Koekoekspolder field. The best locations for the new production wells or extra geothermal doublets are determined based on the best simulation results obtained from this research study which fulfill the future energy demand increment. The procedures used in this research study give clear guidance on how the Koekoekspolder field or any other geothermal field can be sustainably developed using a robust history-matched model that has reliable predictions. The low-enthalpy deep geothermal system of the koekoekspolder field is optimized and developed using different types and scenarios of operational strategies for doublets which allow adequate periods for operational thermal recharge. This study takes into consideration different thermal parameters that are not common to achieve enhanced predictions. Moreover, it illustrates the importance and benefits of considering reservoir boundary conditions. Finding suitable sustainable geothermal field development for the Koekoekspolder field can be achieved by new well-studied techniques that can ensure adequate thermal recharge periods. The results of this research study show that the energy demand can be fulfilled with low investment costs to increase the profit of the field owner. Long-term (around 1 century) sustainable development of geothermal fields such as Koekoekspolder and the new technology in this research study can partially contribute to achieving the geothermal master plan objectives in the Netherlands as well as enhancing low and high-enthalpy geothermal field development worldwide. ... Read more

Following the 2015 Paris Agreement, many countries are switching from fossil fuel to a more renewable energy supply. However, the CO$_2$ concentration in the atmosphere keeps increasing which makes difficult to accelerate the transition to a net-zero emission. In 2020, a new record of CO$_2$ concentration at 412.5 ppm was achieved, the highest concentration seen in the last 800,000 years. For this reason, several technologies have been in the focus to help reducing the amount of CO$_2$ in the atmosphere as well as keeping it from increasing.

One effective technique in the mitigation of these emissions is called Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). It is not a new technology, in fact, it has been used in the Oil \& Gas industry since the early 1970s for the purpose of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). In very general terms, when CO$_2$ is mixed with petroleum in the subsurface, its viscosity decreases making it easier to extract more oil. In addition, some of the CO$_2$ gets trapped in the rock which introduced the idea to use the mechanism to reduce CO$_2$ concentrations in the atmosphere.

However, this technique is not absent of risks and it is one of the main drawbacks experienced with activities that involved the subsurface, the surrounding uncertainties are too great sometimes. Some of the risks that could be encountered when producing, injecting or drilling a well in the subsurface are: under or over pressurization, leakage, uplift or subsidence, induced seismicity, and fault reactivation. In order to reduce the mentioned risks, geomechanical studies help with the understanding of the rock behavior and their response to applied stresses.

In this thesis, UCS and Triaxial laboratory experiments were carried out to test the geomechanical behavior of different rocks coming from Norway, Denmark and Germany. For the triaxial tests, five different cycles at different and increasing $P_c$ were performed. Doing so, some main insights were obtained: the modulus of elasticity increases with depth and confining pressure more significantly with $P_c$ lower than 30 MPa, and plateauing at higher $P_c$; the Young's modulus decreases with increasing porosity and increases with increasing cohesion; the P and S waves velocities change when the yield point is surpassed; with low porosity and high cohesion the acoustic velocities are not dependent on the $P_c$, and vice versa; the SYM and DYM follow similar trends; and the elastic modulus is negatively dependent on the Poisson's ratio.

The information and data obtained from this geomechanical study will be of use to model predictions involving CCS projects to avoid reaching the risks factors mentioned. An example of the lack of knowledge and understanding about rock behavior could be the induced seismicity caused by the extraction of gas from the Groningen gas field. These seismic events acted as a turning point, sparking a necessary shift in perspective and paving the way for a more informed and balanced perception of activities involving the use of the subsurface. ... Read more

Permian deposits are found in outcrops and in the subsurface of Southern Tunisia, in the Jeffara Basin. Their stratigraphic and tectonic evolution is not yet fully understood and represents the main focus of this work. Aspects of the Permian system such as, lateral extend of formations, dating and paleo environments are not well constrained. Answering these questions will impact future hydrocarbon exploration and also improve the geological understanding of Tunisia. To achieve this, seismic lines and well data of the Jeffara Basin have been re-interpreted and re-correlated.

The results of the study indicate a lagoon depositional environment for the Early Permian, a carbonate self environment for the Middle-Upper Permian successions, with dimensions of 80 square kilometers and a general east-west orientation. The thickness of the carbonate deposits reaches a maximum of 2500 kilometers to the north of the reconstituted paleoshore. A Sabkha environment has been interpreted for the Upper Permian with significant deposits of anhydrite. Structurally, it was observed that the Permian is not affected by major normal faults.

Conversely, significant folds have been identified at the seismic data, with a general east-west strike and a northwards dip. Based on the displacement of seismic reflectors, two tectonic episodes have been identified. The first is dated to the Upper Carboniferous - Early Permian and the second to the Early-Middle Triassic. Decompaction calculations indicate low subsidence rates and general stability during the Early Permian. This was followed by significantly increased subsidence rates during the Middle and Upper Permian. ... Read more

The upper Carboniferous in the southern North Sea, especially the Westphalian B and lower Westphalian C stage is characterized by the deposited cyclothems that are a series of coarsening-upward fluvial sediments cycles. These cyclothems are often coal-bearing and no more than 15 m. Studying the fluvial cyclicity has a good potential for improved stratigraphy because the cyclothems show cyclic signals and provide a possible way of high-resolution correlation. An integrated approach using multiple approaches to come to a solid outcome also enables improving the stratigraphy. The previous studies mainly focused on large-scale stratigraphy with a vertical resolution of a few hundred meters. This study has analyzed the fluvial cyclicity and constructed an improved stratigraphic framework of Westphalian B and lower Westphalian C to better understand the sedimentary system. An integrated approach including lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy and Integrated Predictive Error Filter Analysis (INPEFA) is applied to the series. Six intermediate-scale biozones with a thickness of tens of meters to around 150 m are applied. Six intermediate-scale units named stratigraphic packages were recognized by INPEFA curves of the gamma-ray log. The correlations of the biozones and the stratigraphic packages are consistent with each other, and the offset between the boundaries of these two zonations is generally between 2-15 m. Individual intermediate-scale units have a highly variable thickness and the standard deviation of one unit can be up to 42 m. Constrained by the biozones and INPEFA stratigraphic packages, four main coal seams are correlated and their lateral extent can reach 15 km. The small-scale cyclothems that range from 7 to 15 m can be extracted by INPEFA of potassium content log, referring to the small-scale INPEFA cyclicity. The cyclothems and the corresponding INPEFA cycles are thicker and better developed in the southern area. The average thickness of small-scale cycles is 12 m and these cycles are related to obliquity with a duration of approximately 35 kyr. The duration of Westphalian B calculated by the number and the time span of obliquity-scale cycles is nearly 1.2 Myr. No long-period, 100 & 400 kyr eccentricity cycles were recognized in this study. ... Read more

The use of wireline facies associations can alleviate core data shortage during facies prediction by providing a more extensive input dataset. Wintershall has assigned wireline facies associations directly on cored and un-cored wells in the Carboniferous of the Sothern North Sea. Conducting facies prediction using these wireline facies associations as an input can help with tapping into the remaining exploration and development potential of the area. However, the accuracy of this input must be evaluated using core data before machine learning algorithms are applied. This was quantified as 71% for 9 cored wells, where the background floodplain and braided channel facies had the highest accuracies of 88% and 81% respectively, and the mouth bars and marine shales facies could not be adequately validated due to their insufficient core sampling. Consequently, when using wireline facies associations for training facies prediction algorithms, this input’s intrinsic uncertainty should be accounted for while examining the outputs, especially for facies that are not sufficiently validated by cores. Applying facies prediction with Support Vector Machine (SVM), Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network (MLP) and Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), showed that RNN can achieve the highest overall accuracy of 80.9%, due to the highest F1 scores for braided channel (0.88), point bars (0.60) and coal (0.53). The class imbalance problem is apparent for this dataset where the majority classes of background floodplain, braided channel, point bar and coal, are more predicted than the minority classes of crevasse splay sands, mouth bars, and marine shale. Applying RNN on the Westphalian A, B and C separately served as a form of imbalance correcting technique that increased the F1 scores of underrepresented facies. Future work can further refine the results by exploring imbalance correcting techniques through under-sampling the background floodplain and over-sampling the crevasse splay, mouth bar and marine shale facies. ... Read more

The rising demand for clean energy has drawn the attention for more geological research to low enthalpy geothermal applications in the Netherlands. A multi-scale reservoir characterization is carried out with the aim to understand the geothermal reservoir potential of the Triassic Main Buntsandstein (RBM) in the Tilburg area. Seismic data, well logs and petrophysical data are used to evaluate the reservoir architecture, stratigraphy, and quality of the potential Main Buntsandstein geothermal aquifer. It was found that the study area is located within a horst- and graben system bounded by normal faults where the top boundary of the RBM is located at depths of 1900 – 2100 m for the horsts and 3300 – 3500 m for the grabens. The horsts and grabens range from circa 3000 to 4000 meters in width. Well log correlations and thickness maps at RBM scale suggest thicknesses of the Subgroup from ca. 160 to 220 meter. The thickness of the Main Buntsandstein generally decreases on the horsts and increases towards the grabens, suggesting higher temperatures of up to 100° C and thicker sand units in the grabens. Thickness generally decreases on the horsts and increases towards the graben suggesting faults were active at time of deposition and better geothermal potential in the grabens due to greater depths and thicker RBM unit. The core analysis of the study showed that the potential Main Buntsandstein reservoir is composed of a variation of sand- and mudstones interlayers, which were deposited on a large fluvial-fan system terminating in a playa-lake environment towards the basin center. Four different facies associations were distinguished within the cores of wells AND-06, KWK-01, SPC-01 and WWN-01-S2. Optimal reservoir connectivity is, according to the facies architecture model, expected in the Lower Volpriehausen and Detfurth Sandstone Members due to the presence of stacked amalgamated fluvial fan sandstone facies. It appeared that aquifer quality does not correlate with increasing depth or stratigraphic position, although the Volpriehausen- and Detfurth Claystone Members display significant poorer reservoir properties. These members, which can be correlated at well distance due to its widespread deposition as playa-lake sediments, are likely to act as a baffle to flow in the subsurface. Best reservoir potential, considering petrophysical measurements on porosity and permeability, is within the fluvial fan sandstones of all facies associations whereas the fine grained cross bedded sandstones show best reservoir quality of all encountered lithofacies. The data showed highly variable measurements where highest mean values for the porosity (11 %) and permeability (105 mD) are encountered in the Lower Detfurth Sandstone Member of well HVB-01. It turned out that northern located wells of Tilburg (AND-06, KWK-01, WWN-01-S2 and SPC-01) showed considerable poor reservoir potential with mean values of below 10% and 10 mD for the porosity and permeability. The southern wells, however, appear to have generally higher reservoir properties compared to the northern wells suggesting better geothermal potential in the area south of Tilburg. ... Read more

The primary reservoirs present in the Southern Chotts Basin, Central Tunisia, are located within Triassic, Permian and Ordovician units. They are mainly sourced by the Silurian -- Lower Devonian Fegaguira formation and its Hot Shale member. Late Paleozoic exhumation has eroded part of the Palaeozoic package, removing the Early Devonian -- Carboniferous and most of the Permian deposits in the Southern Chotts Basin. This resulted in a diachronous unconformity in the present-day stratigraphy and represents significant uncertainties. This study presents a reconstruction of the tectonic and thermal history of the Southern Chotts Basin and the subsequent impact on source rock thermal maturation, with an emphasis on the Hercynian exhumation. Implications on the petroleum systems in the basin are evaluated by means of a migration study. Investigation of adjacent analogue basins allows estimation of the amount of initially deposited sediment in the Early Devonian -- Permian. Calibration with vitrinite reflectance data minimizes exhumation uncertainties in the basin history and indicates ca. $2300$ m sediment eroded during the Hercynian phase. Subsidence analysis shows similar subsidence patterns throughout the area of interest since the Mesozoic. This argued to use a single set of high and low case initial deposition estimates, calibrated with vitrinite reflectance, in source rock maturation modelling. Source rock maturation modelling in the kitchen area indicates hydrocarbon generation occurs in two phases separated by a phase of stable maturity during Hercynian exhumation. Maturation in the kitchen area is found to currently be in the condensate -- wet gas zone. Migration modelling shows that Paleozoic generation in the northern and northeastern portion of the basin primarily sourced the present-day hydrocarbon discoveries. High capillary entry pressures in overlying Fegaguira shales forced hydrocarbons generated in the Hot Shale member to migrate downward into porous Ordovician units. Subsequently, hydrocarbons laterally migrate up-dip into local traps, where they remain trapped wherever the overlying source rock is preserved during Hercynian exhumation. The Ordovician units acts as a reservoir, and as a carrier bed to source present-day accumulation in the Triassic TAGI unit. A newly identified petroleum system primarily hosts accumulations in lower shoreface Ordovician El Atchane deposits, overlain by the Fegaguira and Hot Shales. Simulated hydrocarbon accumulations and projection of shoreface deposits throughout the area of interest mark a sweet spot area with significant reservoir potential in structural traps. Recommendations are given to further investigate the potential of this system. ... Read more

With an increase in the demand for heat energy, and the growing conscience of the world to reduce CO2 emissions, the transition to cleaner energy alternatives has gained momentum. In the Netherlands, the potential for cost-effective geothermal heat extraction from sedimentary aquifers has led to the exploration of siliciclastic Triassic reservoirs in the West Netherlands Basin and Roer Valley Graben for their suitability. This thesis primarily focuses on two geothermal target wells namely NDW-01 and NLW-GT-01. These wells lie in the Nederweert and Westland areas respectively.NDW-01 comprises of 292m thick sandstone package which is scarcely studied. While the NLW-GT-01 well was drilled tapping depths of over 4000 meters and encountering temperatures of about 100°C. In contradiction to the pre-drill expectations of having appreciable porosity and permeability values between 10-500mD, the Upper Volpriehausen sandstones in NLW-GT-01 exhibited porosity and permeabilities ranging between 1.4% to 3.9% and ≤0.02mD respectively. The sandstones were highly compacted and severely cemented by dolomite and quartz. These cements blocked all the macropores leaving no visible porosity in the thin sections. Although, the cored interval was extensively fractured the measured permeability values were negligible. This thesis presents the results of an assessment of the factors leading to the deterioration of intrinsic porosity and permeability of Triassic aquifers lying in the Westland and Nederweert regions. In this project, grain-size analysis using core plugs, thin-section study, petrophysical data analysis, and FMI log interpretation were conducted to understand the depositional environment of the Lower Germanic Trias Group precisely the cored sections of the Nederweert Sandstone Member in NDW-01 well and the Volpriehausen sandstones in NLW-GT-01 borehole. Due to the complex tectonic history coupled with locally different paleoenvironments, the current depths of the Triassic deposits in the investigated area did not correlate with the reservoir quality of the adjacent shallower wells. In addition to the local depositional conditions in the basin, the variable precipitation in the source area, and the distance of sediment transport have defined the rock characteristics. The primary grain-textures, such as roundness, sorting, packing, as well as the detrital framework and authigenic minerals, were found to influence the sandstone porosity. The tightness of the reservoir was due to significant mechanical compaction and cementation described by a diagenetic reconstruction explaining the evolution of porosity with depth with a negligible generation of secondary porosity. The deterioration of the reservoir quality is correlatable to the burial history and its resulting consequences, namely mechanical and chemical compaction endured by the rock during periods of basin subsidence and uplift. These analyses have put the deviation of pre-drill results from those that were obtained through post-drill evaluations into perspective. ... Read more