Hydrocarbons storage in unlined rock caverns in the world- recent developments and experiences

Underground storages excavated in hard rock environments (unlined rock caverns) are used for variety of purposes in civilengineering. These include caverns housing turbines, electrical generators and transformers in hydroelectric projects, underground warehouses and underground sports facilities. Moreover, unlined rock caverns used for storing various types of hydrocarbons have been designed and realized in many countries since World War Ð. The most common recognized advantages of storing hydrocarbons product in underground – whatever storage types - are low environmental impact, improved safety during operation, security against terrorism, strategic advantages and reduced investments and operational costs. The specific advantage of unlined rock caverns is a large setting-up flexibility regarding variable geological conditions. Because of the high capital costs and the risks associated with public access to these facilities, care has to be taken in design of caverns to ensure that potential risks are kept to an absolute minimum, at the same time, providing cost effective and practical engineering solutions. In this paper, recent developments and techniques of storing hydrocarbons in the world are explained.

Keywords:

hydrocarbons , storage , unlined rock cavern , underground storage