Fels-Aufschluss (Sandstein)
Auswirkung singulärer Durchlässigkeiten
Aufbau eines 2D-Regionalmodells
Natural gas production by fracking
Project: Report with risk study for the exploration and extraction of natural gas from unconventional reservoirs in North Rhine-Westphalia and its effects on the natural household and in particular on public drinking water In cooperation with: ahu AG, Aachen, Aachen BKR city planners, environmental planners, Brenk system design GmbH, Aachen; FORALITH AG, St. Gallen; IWW Institute for Water Research GmbH This project is being funded by Study for the NRW Ministry of EnvironmentProblem:
The extraction of natural gas from unconventional reservoirs is currently discussed intensively and controversially in NRW. This concerns in particular the impact of exploration and extraction on water budget and water management, but also to the impairment of other issues (conservation, soil pollution control, etc.).
The goal:
- Description and effect relationships in large-scale groundwater flow system (stevedores / conductor system) in the actual state
- Combined effects of all exploration activities and recovery measures
- Long-term effects: e.g. gradual failure of a certain proportion of well cementing (long-term corrosion of the casings)
- Effects of unique permeabilities e.g. tear / activation of fractures / fault zones
- Hints for the sensing system and for monitoring
A hydrogeological system description in the actual state and for forecasts of changes in groundwater flow systems through exploration, fracking, and promotion is only possible by numerical modeling. Delta h and its cooperative partners developed the conditions that must exist for the construction of a groundwater model, which is suitable to answer the questions at issue in connection with a risk analysis. It is shown which basics are essential for the development of an appropriate model and how much some later collected data can cause a significant increase in the prediction accuracy of the model. In addition, forecast scenarios are developed, derived from the designed methodology of risk analysis. There is a close collaboration between the development of the methodology of the risk analysis and the design of a groundwater model, as the possibilities and requirements of both fields affect each other greatly. On the one hand this means that improved model bases enable a more sophisticated risk analysis, on the other hand the greater demands of the risk analysis methodology lead to increased demands on the design model.