Surface and Subsurface Behavior of a Fast-Cycling Underground Gas Storage System: Insights from Integrated Monitoring and Modeling at the Cornegliano Laudense Field (Po Plain, Northern Italy)

This PhD research investigates the surface and subsurface response of the Cornegliano Laudense Underground Gas Storage (UGS) system, the first Italian facility operating under a fast-cycling regime (5+2). By integrating high-resolution geological modelling, geodetic monitoring (GNSS and InSAR), time-lapse Pulsed Neutron Log datasets, and an advanced local–downhole seismic network, the study provides a multi-scale characterization of reservoir behaviour under rapid pressure cycling. Results show a fully elastic and reversible ground deformation pattern, with uplift amplitudes up to approximately 2.5 cm confined to the reservoir crest and strictly correlated with injection–withdrawal operations. PNL data document coherent saturation variations and hysteresis effects linked to turbiditic heterogeneity, while seismic monitoring confirms the absence of induced seismicity, with all recorded events matching the natural regional background. Overall, the work establishes a robust methodological framework for the safe and flexible management of UGS systems in structurally complex foreland basins, offering insights of broader relevance for European energy security and the sustainable repurposing of depleted hydrocarbon fields.

Questo studio analizza la risposta superficiale e sotterranea del sistema di stoccaggio gas di Cornegliano Laudense, primo esempio italiano di impianto a cicli rapidi (5+2). L’integrazione di modelli geologici, dati geodetici (GNSS, InSAR), logging PNL e monitoraggio sismico ad alta sensibilità dimostra che il giacimento risponde alle variazioni pressorie con deformazioni superficiali elastiche, cicliche e pienamente reversibili, con sollevamenti fino a ~2,5 cm. I dati PNL rivelano dinamiche di saturazione coerenti con l’eterogeneità torbiditica del reservoir, mentre la rete micro­sismica conferma l’assenza di eventi indotti e la piena stabilità geomeccanica del sistema. Il lavoro definisce un approccio metodologico replicabile per la gestione sicura ed efficiente di UGS in bacini complessi, contribuendo al quadro europeo di transizione energetica e ottimizzazione delle infrastrutture sotterranee.