Creep compaction of porous rock

The time-dependent creep compaction of porous rock is being studied in! the laboratory at simulated in-situ conditions. Of primary concern is rock from subsurface reservoirs containing oil, gas, or geothermal fluids. To simulate the effect of reservoir production, compaction is triggered by pore pressure reduction. Typical measured rates of porosity loss are about 1 χ 10”5/day, although extremes vary greatly from this Theories of inelastic, time-dependent rock compaction are being developed or extended to allow the extrapolation of laboratory measurements to very long times.