Eneco Gasspeicher: Underground gas storage in salt cavern

Eneco Gasspeicher: Underground gas storage in salt cavern

Noordoven, Q.A.L.V.

De Ruiter, J. (mentor)
Van der Kleijn, P. (mentor)

Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Design & Construction

2009-10-15

The Dutch national energy company Eneco is in the process of implementing a large project involving the storage of gas in salt caverns in Epe, Germany. For short-term gas trading and flexibility in the gas market Eneco intend to lease two caverns till 2030 with an option to lease till 2060. Salzgewinnungs Geselschaft Westfalen (SGW) leaches the caverns. This company has produced brine from this area since the 1972. The wells are drilled as cluster wells. The two caverns will have a geometrical volume of 500 000 m3 and 400 000 m3, and will be operated between 40 and 210 bar, resulting in a working gas volume of 170 million m3. In the wells exists temperature fluctuations; the temperature has to be monitored to prevent gas hydrates. The behavior of caverns and mines can only be understood and predicted by taking into account the creep and other aspects of salt. But the mechanical behaviour of salt is of a very hard complexity, and several aspects of it are still open to discussion. Eneco expects the project to contribute to an increased security of supply and liquidity of the northwest European gas market. To complete this project, Eneco Gasspeicher team asked me to give a complete overview of the project. And to give all parameters involved in this project. This report will describe the project in some more detail.

salt cavern
gas storage

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:edef6f1c-95f6-44f9-988b-66c39ac4fe99

2012-12-01

Student theses

bachelor thesis

(c) 2009 Noordoven, Q.A.L.V.