Mailing Address
Dr. Nikita Bondarenko
Geothermal Energy & Geofluids
Institute of Geophysics
NO F 51.1
Sonneggstrasse 5
CH-8092 Zurich Switzerland
Contact
| Phone | +41 44 633 8903 |
| nikita.bondarenko(at)eaps.ethz.ch |
Administration
| Prisca Maurantonio | |
| +41 44 632 3465 | |
| prisca.maurantonio@eaps.ethz.ch | |
Publications
[Go to Proceedings Refereed] [Go to Proceedings Non-Refereed] [Go to Theses]
Underlined names are links to current or past GEG members
REFEREED PUBLICATIONS IN JOURNALS
6.
Bondarenko, N., Y. Podladchikov, S. Williams-Stroud, and R. Makhnenko, Stratigraphy-Induced Localization of Microseismicity During CO2 Injection in Illinois Basin, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 130, pp. e2024JB029526, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JB029526 [Download] [View Abstract]Subsurface fluid injection stimulates complex hydromechanical interaction, necessitating the integration of geomechanical data across spatial and temporal scales to consider the sophisticated behavior. Induced seismic response is usually associated with the complex reservoir architecture and pre-existing features that are three-dimensional, such as local stratigraphy, fractures, faults, and other discontinuities. This study encompasses laboratory characterization of the coupled hydromechanical response of cores extracted from rock formations in Illinois Basin: reservoir - Mt. Simon sandstone, basal seal - Argenta sandstone, and crystalline basement - Precambrian rhyolite. High-resolution numerical modeling allows considering the three-dimensional complexity of the Illinois Basin Decatur Project with spatial resolution comparable to one of the active seismic surveys. A detailed reconstruction of the evolving state of stress in formations lacking direct stress measurements is achieved by numerical modeling that integrated laboratory-derived hydromechanical properties, a porosity-permeability relationship, active seismic data, and an inverted three-dimensional porosity distribution. It appears that the microseismic clusters, mainly observed in the crystalline basement during the injection, are linked to zones experiencing more critically stressed conditions prior to injection. These zones have a potential for reactivation during the injection and are attributed to the specific local stratigraphy of the injection site, as well as transfer of triggering perturbations during the injection.
5.
Kim, H., S. Ding, N. Bondarenko, D.C. Willette, S. Salahshoor, and R.Y. Makhnenko, Experimental approaches for characterization of water-hydrogen flow in reservoir rock, Journal of Energy Storage, 114(B), 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2025.115785 [Download] [View Abstract]Subsurface hydrogen (H2) storage has emerged as a promising solution for overcoming challenges in renewable energy generation. The feasibility of geologic hydrogen storage in saline aquifers requires a comprehensive analysis of multiphase fluid flow within reservoir formations. This study investigates the water-hydrogen transport properties of homogeneous quartz-arenite Berea sandstone and heterogeneous Ironton/Galesville containing clay-rich bedding planes. An experimental setup is introduced to measure the intrinsic and water-hydrogen relative permeability under representative in-situ stress conditions. Single-phase flow tests reveal the bedding-normal intrinsic permeability of Ironton/Galesville to be ⁓10−17 m2 – three to four orders of magnitude lower than the one measured for bedding-parallel orientation and Berea sandstone. In the two-phase flow tests, hydrogen exhibits significantly lower relative permeability than water primarily due to its lower viscosity. Hysteresis in relative permeability is observed only in primary episode, disappearing for the consecutive drainage and imbibition cycles. The strongest hysteresis is identified in vertical Ironton/Galesville, attributed to pore structure complexity and variation in capillary responses. Comparison with relative permeability estimation based on pore structure analysis underscores the limitation of such methods and highlights the importance of direct measurements. These findings provide critical insights into water-hydrogen flow mechanisms and offer valuable data for evaluating subsurface hydrogen potential.
4.
Bondarenko, N., Y. Podladchikov, and R. Makhnenko, Hydromechanical impact of basement rock on injection-induced seismicity in Illinois Basin, Scientific Reports, 12, pp. 15639, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-19775-4 [Download] [View Abstract]The common explanation of observed injection-induced microseismicity is based on the measured stress state at the injection interval and the assumption that it remains the same in the vicinity. We argue here that representing the stress state in different geologic formations over the injection site with the single Mohr’s circle is insufficient due to local stratigraphic features and contrast in compressibilities of the involved formations. The role of hydromechanical coupling in the microseismic response is also crucial for the proper assessment of the problem. Thoroughly monitored Illinois Basin Decatur Project revealed the majority of CO2 injection-associated microseismic events being originated in the crystalline basement. Even though basement faults can serve as the conduits for fluid flow—the predicted pressure increase seems to be insufficient to trigger seismicity. To address this issue, accurate laboratory measurements of rock properties from the involved formations are conducted. The pre-injection stress state and its evolution are evaluated with the hydromechanically coupled numerical model. It appears that the presence of an offset in a stiff competent layer affects the stress state in its vicinity. Therefore, both the pre-injection stress state and its evolution during the fluid injection should be addressed during the induced seismicity assessment.
3.
Bondarenko, N., S. Williams-Stroud, J. Freiburg, and R. Makhnenko, Geomechanical aspects of induced seismicity during CO2 injection in Illinois Basin., The Leading Edge, 40(10), pp. 823-830, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1190/tle40110823.1 [Download] [View Abstract]Carbon sequestration activities are increasing in a global effort to mitigate the effects of greenhouse gas emissions on the climate. Injection of wastewater and oil-field fluids is known to induce seismic activity. This makes it important to understand how that risk relates to CO2 injection. Injection of supercritical CO2 into the Cambrian Mt. Simon sandstone in Illinois Basin induced microseismicity that was observed below the reservoir, primarily in the Precambrian crystalline basement. Geomechanical and flow properties of rock samples from the involved formations were measured in the laboratory and compared with geophysical log data and petrographic analysis. The controlling factors for induced microseismicity in the basement seem to be the hydraulic connection between the reservoir and basement rock and reactivation of pre-existing faults or fractures in the basement. Additionally, the presence of a laterally continuous low-permeability layer between reservoir and basement may have prevented downward migration of pore pressure and reactivation of critically stressed planes of weakness in the basement. Results of the geomechanical characterization of this intermediate layer indicate that it may act as an effective barrier for fluid penetration into the basement and that induced microseismicity is likely to be controlled by the pre-existing system of faults. This is because the intact material is not expected to fail under the reservoir stress conditions.
2.
Smirnov, V.B., A.V. Ponomarev, A.V. Isaeva, N. Bondarenko, A.V. Patonin, P.A. Kaznacheev, S.M. Stroganova, M.G. Potanina, R.K. Chadha, and K. Arora, Fluid initiation of fracture in dry and water saturated rocks, Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth, 56(6), pp. 808-826, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1069351320060099 [Download] [View Abstract]We present the results of the laboratory studies on fluid initiated fracture in the samples of porous-fractured rocks that have been initially saturated with a pressure-injected fluid and then tested under increasing fluid pressure in saturated rocks. The tests were conducted at the Geophysical observatory “Borok” of Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The laboratory is equipped with electrohydraulic press INOVA-1000. The experiments were conducted on the rock samples with substantially different porosity. The tested samples were made of Buffalo sandstones, granites from the well drilled in a seismically active region and of granites from the well in the Voronezh crystalline massif. The permeability of granite samples was varied by their controlled artificial cracking by successive heating and cooling. The experimental procedure was set up in the following way. A preliminarily dried sample was initially subjected to uniaxial loading in uniform compression (confining pressure). Loading was performed at a constant strain rate until the moment when the growth rate of acoustic emission (AE) activity began to accelerate which indicated that the stress level approaches ultimate strength. Since that, the loading rate was decreased by an order of magnitude, and water was infused into a sample from its top face. The bottom end of a sample was tightly sealed and impermeable to water. After this, the pore pressure in the sample that had got saturated with water to that moment was raised in steps whose amplitudes were varied. The obtained results of the laboratory studies show that the character and intensity of fluid initiation of fracture markedly differ under primary fluid injection into the porous-fractured samples and under the subsequent increases of the pore pressure in the saturated samples. The time delay of acoustic response relative to fluid initiation and the amplitude of the response proved to be larger in the case of water injection into dry samples than in the case of raising the pore pressure in saturated samples. The AE response to the decrease in the pore pressure was also detected in the experiments. The theoretical analysis of fluid propagation in a pore space of an air-filled sample in the model with piston-type air displacement has shown that in the case of water injection into a dry sample, the fluid pressure front propagates more slowly than in the saturated sample.
1.
Kaznacheev, P.A., Z.-Yu.Ya. Maibuk, A.V. Ponomarev, V.B. Smirnov, and N. Bondarenko, On the issue of analysis of acoustic emission event statistic on data of single sensor in rock thermal fracture experiments, Geophysical Research, 20(1), pp. 52-64, 2019. https://doi.org/10.21455/gr2019.1-5 [Download] [View Abstract]Authors examine the problem of estimation of b-value for energy distribution of thermal acoustic emission (TAE) events on basis of amplitude distribution of TAE impulses. Impulses are registered by single TAE sensor. Authors have analyzed the effect of factors, associated with elastic waves propagation, on the energy of impulses. The analysis shows, that effect of elastic waves absorption in heated sample is the most significant from these factors. Two events of energy distribution are considered – with one and two sub-functions. It has shown, that the same b-value of registered impulse amplitude distribution and initial event distribution is observed if only b-value is stable in all TAE-event energy range (one sub-function). In this situation, there is one characteristic generation mechanism of events in all sample volume. But if b-value is not stable in different energy ranges (two sub-functions), then elastic waves absorption in the sample distorts initial distribution. Authors propose technique of “true” b-value estimation on basis of distribution analysis of registered TAE impulses in several amplitude subranges.