Pore pressure reduction in sandstone reservoirs generally leads to small elastic plus inelastic strains. These small strains (0.1 – 1.0% in total) may lead to surface subsidence and induced seismicity. In current geomechanical models, the inelastic component is usually neglected, though its contribution to stress-strain behaviour is poorly constrained.To help bridge this gap, we performed deviatoric and hydrostatic stress-cycling experiments on Slochteren sandstone samples from the seismogenic Groningen gas field in the Netherlands. We explored in-situ conditions of temperature (T = 100°C) and pore fluid chemistry, porosities of 13 to 26% and effective confining pressures (≤ 320 MPa) and differential stresses (≤ 135 MPa) covering and exceeding those relevant to producing fields. The findings of our work are outlined in the corresponding paper. The data presented here are the measured mechanical tabular data and microstructural data (stitched mosaic of backscatter electron images) provided as uncompressed jpg images. In addition, for one sample we include chemical element maps obtained through Electron Dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX).
Hydrocarbon or groundwater production from sandstone reservoirs can result in surface subsidence and induced seismicity. Subsidence results from combined elastic and inelastic compaction of the reservoir due to a change in the effective stress state upon fluid extraction. The magnitude of elastic compaction can be accurately described using poroelasticity theory. However inelastic or time-dependent compaction is poorly constrained. We use sandstones recovered by the field operator (NAM) from the Slochteren gas reservoir (Groningen, NE Netherlands) to study the importance of elastic versus inelastic deformation processes upon simulated pore pressure depletion. We conducted conventional triaxial tests under true in-situ conditions of pressure and temperature. To investigate the effect of applied differential stress (σ1 – σ3 = 0 - 50 MPa) and initial sample porosity (φi = 12 – 25%) on instantaneous and time-dependent inelastic deformation, we imposed multiple stages of axial loading and relaxation.The obtained data include:1) Mechanical data obtained in conventional triaxial compression experiments performed on reservoir sandstone. In these experiments, we imposed multiple stages of active loading, each followed by 24 hours of stress relaxation.2) Microstructural data obtained on undeformed and deformed samples.