Impact of groundwater flow on methane gas migration and retention in unconsolidated aquifers

Methane leaking at depth from hydrocarbon wells poses an environmental and safety hazard. However, determining the occurrence and magnitude of gas migration at ground surface is challenging, as part of the leaking gas is retained during upward migration. We investigated migration through unconsolidated sedimentary aquifers using a two-phase, two...

Occurrence and fate of methane leakage from cut and buried abandoned gas wells in the Netherlands

Methane leakage caused by well integrity failure was assessed at 28 abandoned gas wells and 1 oil well in the Netherlands, which have been plugged, cut and buried to below the ground surface (≥3 mbgl). At each location, methane concentrations were thoroughly scanned at the surface. A static chamber setup was used to measure methane flow rates...

Impact of an historic underground gas well blowout on the current methane chemistry in a shallow groundwater system

Blowouts present a small but genuine risk when drilling into the deep subsurface and can have an immediate and significant impact on the surrounding environment. Nevertheless, studies that document their long-term impact are scarce. In 1965, a catastrophic underground blowout occurred during the drilling of a gas well in The Netherlands, which...