Gas in Soil. I: Detection and η‐Profiling
This article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLYPublication: Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 120, Issue 4
Abstract
Increasing offshore construction activities in areas where marine sediments contain gas (either in dissolved or free form) have generated an interest in developing in situ test equipment capable of detecting and quantifying the amount of in situ gases (η‐profiling). This is important since: (1) Failure to detect gas pockets ahead of the drill bit during soil investigation or drilling operations may result in gas blowouts, and, consequently, life and financial losses; and (2) if the amount of gas is not correctly quantified for use in advanced laboratory testing of gassy soil specimens, misleading design parameters may be established. This paper introduces a new in situ test device, referred to as the BAT probe, which is used to sample in situ pore water/gas to quantify the amount of gas in the soil (η‐profiling) and to predict the presence of gas pockets ahead of the drill bit. The results from a laboratory verification test program and several offshore soil investigation projects are presented and discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Forsberg, K. F., Rad, N. S., and Lunne, T. (1989). “Effect of gas on soil behavior. Literature survey: modes of gas occurrence and migrations, and effect of gas on soil behavior.” NGI Rep. No. 521590‐2, Norwegian Geotech. Inst., Oslo, Norway.
2.
Hovland, M., and Judd, A. G. (1988). Seabed pockmarks and seepage. Impact on geology, biology and the marine environment. Graham & Trotman, London, England.
3.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute. (1987). “Contract report, Norsk Hydro, TOGI template soil investigation.” NGI Rep. No. 87258‐3, Oslo, Norway.
4.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute. (1988). “Contract report, Geocean, Tchibouela Field, offshore Congo, BAT testing.” NGI Rep. No. 882502‐1, Oslo, Norway.
5.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute. (1989a). “Contract report, Statoil, Gullfaks C soil investigation 1988, Block 34/1.” NGI Rep. No. 882506‐4, Oslo, Norway.
6.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute. (1989b). “Contract report, Statoil, Troll phase I 1989 soil investigation.” NGI Rep. No. 892512‐3, Oslo, Norway.
7.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute. (1990a). “A study of gas in marine sediments in Hong Kong.” NGI Rep. 892534‐1, Oslo, Norway.
8.
Norwegian Geoteehnical Institute. (1990b). “A study of gas in marine sediments in Hong Kong.” NGI Rep. 892534‐2, Oslo, Norway.
9.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute. (1990c). “Contract report, Fugro‐McClelland B.V., BAT testing offshore Denmark, Maersk‐Dagmar.” NGI Rep. No. 902525‐1, Oslo, Norway.
10.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute. (1990d). “Contract report, Fugro‐McClelland B.V., BAT testing offshore Denmark, Maersk‐Tyra S.E.” NGI Rep. No. 902543‐1, Oslo, Norway.
11.
Premchitt, J., Rad, N. S., To, P., Shaw, R., and James, J. W. C. (1990). “A study of gas in marine sediments in Hong Kong.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Methane in Marine Sediments, Edinburgh, Scotland.
12.
Rad, N. S. (1988). “Effect of shallow gas on soil behavior, offshore BAT: equipment, testing and interpretation.” NGI Internal Rep. 521590‐1, Norwegian Geotech. Inst., Oslo, Norway.
13.
Rad, N. S. (1989). “Effect of gas on soil behavior, offshore BAT equipment: shallow gas detection.” NGI Rep. No. 521590‐3, Norwegian Geotech. Inst., Oslo, Norway.
14.
Rad, N. S., and Lunne, T. (1986). “In situ investigations techniques and interpretation for offshore practice, evaluation of BAT ground water monitoring system in Onsøy clay.” NGI Internal Rep. No. 40019‐33, Norwegian Geotech. Inst., Oslo, Norway.
15.
Rad, N. S., and Lunne, T. (1990). “Effect of gas on soil behavior, summary/application report.” NGI Rep. No. 521590‐6, Norwegian Geotech. Inst.; Oslo, Norway.
16.
Rad, N. S., Lunne, T., Tjelta, T. I., and Eide, A. (1989). “A new soil investigation tool for detection of shallow gas.” Conf. on Shallow Gas and Leaky Reservoirs, Stavanger, Norway.
17.
Rad, N. S., Sollie, S., Lunne, T., and Torstensson, B. A. (1988). “A new tool for measuring in situ coefficient of permeability and sampling pore water and gas.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Behavior of Offshore Struct., BOSS '88. Trondheim, Norway, 409–417.
18.
Rad, N. S., and Vianna, A. J. D. (1990). “Effect of gas on soil behavior, static and cyclic triaxial strength of gassy soils: laboratory test results.” NGI Rep. No. 521590‐4, Norwegian Geotech. Inst., Oslo, Norway.
19.
Rad, N. S., Vianna, A. J. D., and Berre, T. (1994). “Gas in soils. I: effect of gas on undrained static and cyclic strength of sand.” J. Geotech. Engrg., ASCE, 124(4), 716–736.
20.
Torstensson, B.‐A. (1984). “A new system for ground water monitoring.” Ground Water Monitoring Rev., 4, 131–138.
21.
Yamamoto, S., Alcauskas, J. B., and Crozier, T. E. (1976). “Solubility of methane in distilled water and seawater.” J. Chemical and Engrg. Data, 21(1), 78–80.
22.
Zuidberg, H. M., Richards, A. F., and Giese, J. M. (1986). “Soil exploration offshore.” 4th Int. Geotech. Seminar on Field Instrumentation and In Situ Measurements. Nanyang Technical Institute, Singapore, 3–11.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © 1994 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 6, 1991
Published online: Apr 1, 1994
Published in print: Apr 1994
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.