<p>Large-scale underground oil storage is crucial to the development of the country. Salt cavern sediment void oil storage (SVOS) can greatly improve the cavern oil capacity, and SVOS is a novel method that has great development potential in high-impurity salt mines. The mechanical stability of SVOS is essential to ensure long-term creep operation. In this study, a 3D geo-mechanical model of the horizontal salt cavern with high sediments was established based on the site selection, and a sediment particle gradient pressure applying force was built. Five key factors (sediment content, injection–production cycle, oil type, cavern depth, and operating pressure) that affect the stability of SVOS were proposed to conduct simulations. Six evaluation parameters (displacement, effective strain, safety factor, strength utilization ratio, volume shrinkage ratio, and plastic zone) were proposed to analyze the stability of SVOS. The results show that the sediment particle had an inhibiting effect on deformation and cavern shrinkage. The SVOS had great mechanical stability under different operating conditions except for the cavern's depth. The 65% of sediment content, 1 ~ 4 cycles/year oil injection–production, 0.70 ~ 0.85 <InlineEquation ID="IEq1"> <InlineMediaObject> <ImageObject Color="BlackWhite" FileRef="603_2025_4550_Article_IEq1.gif" Format="GIF" Height="18" Rendition="HTML" Resolution="72" Type="Linedraw" Width="38" /> </InlineMediaObject> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$\times {10}^{3}$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mrow> <mo>×</mo> <msup> <mrow> <mn>10</mn> </mrow> <mn>3</mn> </msup> </mrow> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation> kg/<InlineEquation ID="IEq2"> <InlineMediaObject> <ImageObject Color="BlackWhite" FileRef="603_2025_4550_Article_IEq2.gif" Format="GIF" Height="16" Rendition="HTML" Resolution="72" Type="Linedraw" Width="22" /> </InlineMediaObject> <EquationSource Format="TEX">${m}^{3}$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <msup> <mrow> <mi>m</mi> </mrow> <mn>3</mn> </msup> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation> oil density, depth less than 1100 m, and 4 ~ 6 MPa wellhead operating pressure were the best operating parameters of SVOS. The research has a reference for the construction of salt cavern sediment void oil storage in high-impurity salt mines.</p>

Stability Analysis of Underground Salt Cavern Sediment Void Oil Energy Storage in High-Impurity Salt Mine in China

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发表日期：

2025年4月14日

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Xinxing Wei,
Xilin Shi,
Hongling Ma,
Shengnan Ban

摘要

Large-scale underground oil storage is crucial to the development of the country. Salt cavern sediment void oil storage (SVOS) can greatly improve the cavern oil capacity, and SVOS is a novel method that has great development potential in high-impurity salt mines. The mechanical stability of SVOS is essential to ensure long-term creep operation. In this study, a 3D geo-mechanical model of the horizontal salt cavern with high sediments was established based on the site selection, and a sediment particle gradient pressure applying force was built. Five key factors (sediment content, injection–production cycle, oil type, cavern depth, and operating pressure) that affect the stability of SVOS were proposed to conduct simulations. Six evaluation parameters (displacement, effective strain, safety factor, strength utilization ratio, volume shrinkage ratio, and plastic zone) were proposed to analyze the stability of SVOS. The results show that the sediment particle had an inhibiting effect on deformation and cavern shrinkage. The SVOS had great mechanical stability under different operating conditions except for the cavern's depth. The 65% of sediment content, 1 ~ 4 cycles/year oil injection–production, 0.70 ~ 0.85 $\times {10}^{3}$ $\times 10^{3}$ kg/ ${m}^{3}$ $m^{3}$ oil density, depth less than 1100 m, and 4 ~ 6 MPa wellhead operating pressure were the best operating parameters of SVOS. The research has a reference for the construction of salt cavern sediment void oil storage in high-impurity salt mines.