During the years of experimentation, the INGV Monitoring Center for Subsoil Activities did not show any correlations between seismicity and soil deformations with subsoil exploitation activities in the Val d'Agri in Basilicata.
The three-year experimentation period for monitoring seismicity, soil deformations and pore pressures in the context of hydrocarbon production activities in Val d'Agri (Basilicata) requested in 2017 by the Ministry for Economic Development has just ended (MiSE) at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). From the data and processing acquired during this period of observation, the INGV researchers can state that the seismicity localized in the Val d'Agri study area has maintained the same coherent characteristics as in previous years. Furthermore, for ground deformations, the high-precision geodetic measurements conducted confirm that the local velocity field is generally consistent with the regional field, first of all representing the ongoing Apennine tectonic extension.
On the proposal of the MiSE (currently the responsibility of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security - MASE) the Val D'Agri constitutes one of the four pilot sites for the experimentation of the Addresses and Guidelines (ILG) for monitoring seismicity, deformations of the soil and pore pressures in areas affected by human activities. The ILGs, in fact, define and regulate the methods for monitoring pore pressures, seismicity and soil deformation in geo-resource exploitation areas, establishing roles and responsibilities between public and private subjects involved in the industrial activity, to guarantee and protect of security.
In the subsoil of Basilicata, there are the largest continental deposits of oil with associated gas in Europe, the subject of hydrocarbon extraction by ENI for over 30 years and, more recently, also by TOTAL.
In 2017, INGV was nominated by the MiSE as the "Structure responsible for monitoring" (SPM) for the application in Val d'Agri of the prescriptions and recommendations defined in the ILG. The Institute has since established the , an internal structure dedicated to the collection, analysis, interpretation and modeling of monitoring data relating to areas of the national territory affected by human activities for the exploitation of georesources (such as hydrocarbon extraction, reinjection of waste water, natural gas storage, geothermal, carbon dioxide sequestration, mining, reservoirs).
Val d'Agri is located in one of the areas of greatest seismic danger in Italy. In December 1857 an earthquake with an estimated magnitude M~7, one of the strongest earthquakes in the history of Italy, struck the Val d'Agri and the Vallo di Diano. Therefore, the high seismic hazard present in Basilicata, superimposed on the high interest in industrial exploitation of its hydrocarbon deposits, motivated the decision to equip the Val d'Agri with a geophysical monitoring system that can be considered among the most advanced of Italy.
"In the case of the Val d'Agri, the industrial activity consists both in the extraction of oil with associated gas, and in the re-injection of the layer waters that reach the surface during the production process", explains Thomas Brown, seismologist of the INGV CMS. “This territory is considered among the areas with the highest seismic hazard in Italy. The high seismic risk present in Basilicata, together with the high interest in the industrial exploitation of its hydrocarbon deposits, has therefore led to equipping the Val d'Agri with one of the most advanced geophysical monitoring systems in the country”.
"The task of the INGV Monitoring Center consists in the daily control of the seismicity monitoring parameters: from the manual control of the seismicity to the calculation of the magnitude, to the updating of the database and the compilation and publication of the bulletin", explains Andrea Morelli, responsible for the CMS. “In the event that a seismic event with a magnitude M ≥ 1.5 occurs within the reference domain, the first alert level of the traffic light system is established. Subsequent activities are indicated exactly in the ILGs and include a whole series of safety actions up to the possible suspension of production/re-injection/storage activities in progress, in the event of exceeding increasing thresholds”, concludes Andrea Morelli.
The monitoring system installed in Val d'Agri allows the real-time acquisition of data from an integrated seismic network of 57 stations (public and private) capable of locating microseismicity as well as the periodic acquisition of precision geodetic data from a local network of 5 permanent stations integrated in the regional network system.
These data, collected and analyzed by the INGV CMS, make it possible to have a monitoring system active in Basilicata which provides a constantly updated picture of the seismicity and deformations linked to human activities and any actions to be taken in the event of exceeding the alert, according to a progressive "traffic light" pattern.
“Between 2020 and 2022 the seismicity localized within a radius of 5 km from the stratum water re-injection well, located in Montemurro in the province of Potenza, maintained magnitude values ML < 1, i.e. below the threshold ML limit ≥ 1.5 starting from which one passes from an ordinary management level 0 (green) to an alert level 1 (yellow)", explains Stephanie Danesi, CMS seismologist. "Furthermore, the precision geodetic measurements conducted so far, as well as the ground deformation data from GPS and InSAR networks (satellite networks), have not shown ground deformations induced by subsoil exploitation activities in the area".
The activities are carried out in a framework of transparency and information sharing. A dedicated website (http://cms.ingv.it), which can also be reached from the INGV national portal, ensures that general and detailed information on monitoring activities at the individual concessions is published with maximum transparency.
A further extension of the local geodetic network from 5 to 12 stations in the monitoring domains of Val d'Agri is planned for the coming months. The integrated seismic and geodetic network will make it possible to further improve the level of surveillance which, already today, constitutes a unicum in Italy for the monitoring of seismicity and deformation parameters in mining areas.
Study citation: .
link:
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VAL D'AGRI | First results of seismicity monitoring connected to hydrocarbon production activities
During the years of experimentation, the INGV Monitoring Center for Subsoil Activities did not show any correlations between seismicity and ground deformations with subsoil exploitation activities in the Val d'Agri in Basilicata.
It just ended the three-year experimentation period for monitoring seismicity, ground deformations and pore pressures in the framework of hydrocarbon production activities in Val d'Agri (Basilicata), requested in 2017 by the Ministry for Economic Development (MiSE) at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).
Based on the data and elaborations acquired in this period of observation, the INGV researchers can state that the seismicity localized in the Val d'Agri study area has maintained the same coherent characteristics of the previous years. Furthermore, concerning ground deformations, the performed high-precision geodetic measurements confirm that the local velocity field is generally consistent with the regional field, representing mainly the Apennine tectonic extension in progress.
On a proposal of the MiSE (now the responsibility lies with the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security - MASE) the Val D'Agri constitutes one of the four pilot sites for the experimentation of the Guidelines (ILG) for the monitoring of seismicity, ground deformation and pore pressures in areas affected by human activities. The ILG, in fact, define and regulate the methods for monitoring pore pressures, seismicity and ground deformations in exploitation areas of georesources, establishing roles and responsibilities between public and private entities involved in the industrial activity, to ensure safety and protection
The subsoil of Basilicata hosts the largest continental reservoir of oil, with gas associated, in Europe, the subject of hydrocarbon extraction for more than 30 years by ENI and, more recently, also by TOTAL.
In 2017, INGV was charged by the MiSE as "monitoring agency" (SPM) responsible for the application in Val d'Agri of the regulations and recommendations defined in the ILG. Subsequently, the Institute established the , an internal structure dedicated to the collection, analysis, interpretation and modeling of monitoring data relating to areas of the national territory affected by anthropopic activities of exploitation of georesources (such as hydrocarbon extraction, wastewater reinjection, natural gas storage, geothermal energy, carbon dioxide sequestration, mining, reservoir impoundments).
The Val d'Agri is located in one of the areas with the highest seismic hazard in Italy. In December 1857 an earthquake with an estimated magnitude M~7, one of the strongest earthquakes in the history of Italy, struck the Val d'Agri and the Vallo di Diano. Therefore, the high seismic hazard present in Basilicata, superimposed on the high interest in industrial exploitation of its hydrocarbon deposits, motivated the decision to equip the Val d'Agri with a geophysical monitoring system that can be considered among the most advanced of Italy.
"In the case of the Val d'Agri, the industrial activity consists in the extraction of oil with associated gas, and in the re-injection of the waste water that reaches the surface during the production process", he explains Thomas Brown, seismologist at CMS of INGV. “This territory is considered among the areas with the highest seismic hazard in Italy. The high seismic risk present in Basilicata, together with the great interest in the industrial exploitation of its hydrocarbon deposits, has therefore led to provide the Val d'Agri with one of the most advanced geophysical monitoring systems in the country".
"The task of the INGV Monitoring Center consists in the daily control of the seismicity monitoring parameters: from the manual control of seismicity to the calculation of the magnitude, to updating the database and compiling and publishing the bulletin", he explains Andrea Morelli, head of the CMS. “In case that a seismic event with a magnitude M ≥ 1.5 occurs inside the reference domain, the first alert level of the traffic light system is triggered. The subsequent activities are indicated exactly in the ILG and include a series of safety actions up to the possible suspension of the production/re-injection/storage activities in progress, in the event of exceeding increasing thresholds”, concludes Andrea Morelli.
The monitoring system installed in Val d'Agri allows the real-time acquisition of data from an integrated seismic network of 57 stations (public and private) capable of locating microseismicity as well as the periodic acquisition of precision geodetic data from a local network of 5 permanent stations integrated into the regional network system.
These data, collected and analyzed by the INGV CMS, make it possible to have activated in Basilicata a monitoring system, which provides a constantly updated picture of the seismicity and deformations linked to human activities and any actions to be taken in the event of exceeding the alert threshold, according to a progressive "traffic light" pattern.
"Between 2020 and 2022 the seismicity located within a radius of 5 km from the waste water re-injection well, located near Montemurro in the province of Potenza, maintained magnitude values ML < 1, ie, below the threshold of ML ≥ 1.5, above which one passes from an ordinary management level 0 (green) to alert level 1 (yellow)”, explains Stephanie Danesi, seismologist of the CMS. “Furthermore, the precision geodetic measurements conducted so far, as well as the ground deformation data from GPS and InSAR networks (satellite networks), have not shown ground deformations induced by subsoil exploitation activities in the area".
The activities are carried out in a framework of transparency and information sharing. A dedicated website (http://cms.ingv.it), which can also be reached from the national INGV portal, ensures that general and detailed information on monitoring activities at the individual concessions is published with maximum transparency.
A further extension of the local geodetic network from 5 to 12 stations in the monitoring domains of the Val d'Agri is planned for the coming months. The integrated seismic and geodetic network will make it possible to further improve the level of surveillance which, already today, is unique in Italy for the monitoring of seismicity and deformation parameters in areas of mining exploitation.
Study citation .
Link:
Photo 1 - View from Tramutola: the Vulturino (on the left) and Montagna Grande (on the right).
Ph. 1 - View from Tramutola towards E: il Vulturino (on the left) and Montagna Grande (on the right).
Photo 2 – Pietrapertosa, in the Lucanian Dolomites.
Ph. 2 - Pietrapertosa in the Lucanian Dolomites.
Photo 3 – The village of Castelmezzano (PZ), dominated by the characteristic pinnacles of the Lucanian Dolomites.
Ph. 3 – The village of Castelmezzano (PZ), dominated by the characteristic pinnacles of the Lucanian Dolomites.
Photo 4 – View from the Spinosa area (Monti di Maddalena) towards N: in the background, Lake Pertusillo.
Ph. 4 - View from the area of Spinosa (Monti di Maddalena) in N direction: in the valley the Pertusillo Lake.
Photo 5 – Tramutola natural spring.
Ph. 5 - Natural hydrocarbon outcrop at Tramutola.