Mechanical behaviour of deep rock core samples from a seismically active gas field

This study concerns the laboratory testing of core samples from massive sedimentary rocks from an oil and gas field. The depth of extraction of the samples analysed varies between 1000 and 5000 metres. In all, 65 tests were performed, most of which included systematic measurement of acoustic activity during loading. The aim of the testing was to determine which types of fracture could occur in the rock matrix under field-stress conditions by examining in particular the relationship between confining pressure and the transition from brittle to ductile behaviour. The results of the laboratory tests are used to predict the occurrence of seismic activity resulting from the depletion of the gas reservoir which has been monitored during the last twenty years.