YARYGIN G.A., LUKYANOV O.V., GUSELTSEV A.S. Scientific Production Company "DIEM", Russia

A considerable volume of data accumulated by the end of the XX century provided a possibility to expand the limits of understanding the mechanisms of many geologic processes in terms of wave tectonics and the earth's interior geodynamics.

On the other hand, the continuous increase in anthropogenic impact on the environment, geologic environment inclusive, leads to increase in the number and scale of ecological accidents. Correlation of accident occurrence places and, in many cases, occurrence times with geological parameters such as tectonic structure, seismic and geodynamic settings, and geotechnical conditions in accident occurrence areas suggested the necessity to revise the attitude to the geodynamic factor during ecological and socio-economic risk assessment. This proves out for oil and gas infrastructure, because oil and gas production facilities and trunk pipelines are associated with higher-than-average risks.

Co-occurrence of the processes mentioned above creates even more difficult geodynamic conditions in oil and gas field areas and triggers many endogenic and exogenic processes. Manifestations of the latter in developing fields or their parts may increase the expected ecological risks dramatically.

A number of normative documents and regulations were issued in this connection, postulating the necessity to create geodynamic test sites (GTS) as the basis for geological monitoring (GM) in oil and gas fields.

Among these documents is Guideline RD 51-1-96 "Instruction for Environment Protection during Onshore Drilling in Multicomponent, Hydrogen Sulfide Bearing in Particular, Hydrocarbon Fields" confirmed by the Ministry of Fuel and Energy of RF on 25.01.1996 and by the Ministry of Natural Resources of RF, on 10.08.1996.

According to this document, conventional environment protection measures included in field development project design should be supplemented by subsurface ecosystem protection and natural-anthropogenic geological hazard prevention measures.

Hydrocarbon field development should be accompanied by systematic ecologic-geodynamic monitoring, and each well project design should include data on the stress-strained state of rock mass, modern tectonic movements' intensity, and the extent of subsurface and surface technogenesis.

Monitoring system should provide for the ecological and geodynamic safety of long-term HC field development. Monitonng should be carried out in compliance with a program included in each particular project design, which contains a well substantiated seismicity and strain observation system, optimum observation procedure, hardware and software support, and observation regime adequate for monitoring purposes.

The state of affairs in gas pipeline system is completely different. Unfortunately the problem here is aggravated by the persisting dissociation between conventional geotechnical surveys focused at foundations and mostly exogenic geological processes on the one hand and new branches of science such as engineering geotectonics, on the other. This affects the approach to GM accordingly. The result is the impossibility to apply most marginally operable state criteria (target predicates) to facilities in the contexts of existing and anticipated geodynamic conditions.

Therefore, integration of geotechnical and engineering-tectonic surveys is crucial for the effective management of the construction and operation of any facility as well as its technical and ecological safety. Accordingly, GM at GTS should also integrate the respective steady-state observation techniques and procedures.

OIL AND GAS OF ARCTIC SHELF 2006 (PROCEEDINGS OF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE)

Unpublished articles