Salt Dome Storage
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What is Salt Dome Storage?

Natural gas, crude oil and other fuels have been stored in underground salt domes and salt caverns for nearly seventy years.  There are many reasons that salt domes and salt caverns are used for natural gas storage as well as crude oil storage and storage of other petroleum based hydrocarbons.  Chief among these are that salt dome storage provide; energy/fuel efficiencies, security, safety, strategic supply solutions, ability to meet peak demand requirements, cost-savings and protection from; fire, vandalism, hurricanes, tornados, acts of terrorism and all with extremely low environmental risk.  

Salt dome storage and salt caverns provides the lowest cost solution for crude oil storage and natural gas storage (and other hydrocarbons) and represents an environmentally-secure method for storing America's energy resources for very long periods of time. For example, storing crude oil in artificially-created salt caverns deep within the rock-hard salt costs historically about $3.50 per barrel in capital costs.  Crude oil storage in above-ground tanks, by comparison, can cost $15 to $18 per barrel - or at least five times the expense. Because salt caverns are 2,000 to 4,000 feet below the surface, geologic pressures will seal any/all cracks that may develop in the salt formation, assuring that no crude oil leaks from the cavern. An added benefit is the natural temperature difference between the top of the caverns and the bottom - a distance of around 2,000 feet; the temperature differential keeps the crude oil continuously circulating in the caverns, giving the oil a consistent quality.

How are salt caverns created? 

Salt caverns are "carved" from underground salt domes by a technology called "solution mining."  Solution mining involves a process whereby a well is drilled into an underground salt formation and then injecting large volumes of fresh water. The water dissolves the salt. In creating the salt caverns, the dissolved salt was removed as brine and either re-injected into salt water disposal wells or, alternatively, may be piped several miles offshore into the Gulf of Mexico. By carefully controlling the pressure and direction of the freshwater injection process, salt caverns of very precise dimensions can be created. 

How does salt dome storage contain the oil or natural gas?

Rock salt has a combination of characteristics that make it very attractive for the storage of crude oil and natural gas as well as other petroleum fuels.  If the rock salt is relatively pure and does not contain significant amounts of other types of rock, it is generally impervious to both liquids and gases and inert to petroleum.  Rock salt has a compression strength comparable to concrete under the weight of the overlying and surrounding rock.  Rock salt will "move" like plastic to seal incipient fractures, and can be mined easily by dissolving it with water.