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4.1 STORAGE OF OIL AND GAS IN ROCK CAVERNS BELOW THE

GROUND WATER TABLE
- GENERAL DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
Svein Martin Haug
ABSTRACT:

INTRODUCTION

The development and refinement of the underground

storage technology is a result of the experience gained
through many years of operation. The flexible and
efficient utilisation of the underground space for rock
cavern storage has enabled later expansion of several Norwegian storage facilities. The concept of underground storage in rock caverns has proved superior to
surface storage and the method is recognised as Proven
Technology. Today there are more than 70 rock caverns
for storage of hydrocarbons in operation in Norway.

Experience from several years of operation has resulted

in development of the storage method. The regulations
controlling storage of explosive products have also
been developed and have affected the storage methods.
This article focuses on the development of underground
storage methods.

Figure 1: Typical underground storage facility with tanker unloading facilities and truck loading.
(Illustration: Sentab / Skanska)

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EXTERNAL CONDITIONS AND

PRINCIPLES FOR STORAGE OF OIL
AND GAS IN UNLINED ROCK CAVERNS
The following requirements describe necessary conditions for underground storage of petroleum products:
- The product must be lighter than water (i.e. specific
gravity below 1 g/cm3)
- The product must be insoluble in water
- The ground water level must be stable throughout the
area
- The quality and permeability of the rock mass must be
suited for caverns with a certain span.
The three first requirements are absolute and emphasize
the importance of the ground water. The last requirement is relative and will only have consequences for
total cost of the project.
Figure 3: Installations in an underground storage. The water
accumulates at the bottom of the cavern.
(Illustration: Norconsult)

It is important that the level of product in the cavern is

always lower than the ground water level. A slow flow
of water through the rock mass towards the cavern prevents leakage of products to the ground water and also
prevents gas from reaching the surface (Figure 2).

STORAGE METHODS - BACKGROUND

AND REQUIREMENTS
Different methods are used for different products,
depending on storage temperature and pressure. Storage
in underground caverns may be designed to meet different demands, just like ordinary steel tanks on the
ground surface. Gases like propane may be stored under
pressure or at low temperatures to keep them liquefied.
Heavy crude oils and fuel oils may have to be heated to
make it possible to move them through the pipelines.
Today nearly all oil products are stored in closed caverns to avoid discharge of hydrocarbon vapours to the
atmosphere.
The first attempts to store oil in unlined rock caverns
were made with fuel oil in old mines. These mines were
quite shallow compared to the ground water level. The
Swedish regulations at that time said that the top of the
cavern had to be at least 5 m below the ground water
table. The caverns were made with an open vent line,
i.e. when oil was filled into the cavern the oil vapours
inside the cavern were forced out. When the oil was
pumped out, air was sucked into the cavern to compensate for the lower level in the cavern. This method was
working as long as there were no requirements for gas
discharge, and as long as no explosive mixture of air and
oil vapours was formed inside the cavern.

Figure 2: Principle - ground water pressure is higher than

the pressure exerted by the product.
(Illustration: Norconsult)

The water leaking into the cavern will not mix with
the products, but accumulate at the bottom of the cavern. The water is pumped out and cleaned before it is
released (Figure 3).

The Norwegian regulations are maintained by DSB

(Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency
Planning), earlier called DBE (Directorate for Fire and
Explosion Protection). The requirement today is location of the cavern at a depth below the ground water
level which is at least equal to the vapour pressure of
the product measured in metres of water column, in
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addition to a 20 m safety margin. For products with

vapour pressure of 1.5 bar (15 m water column) or less
it is common today to locate the cavern (15 m + 20 m)
below the ground water table.
The Flammable Materials Regulations operate with
three classes:
- Class A: Fluid with flame point +23 C (e.g. petrol)
- Class B: Fluid with flame point between +23 C and
55 C (e.g. Jet A-1)
- Class C: Engine fuel and fuel oil with flame point >
55 C (e.g. fuel oil)
Danger of Explosion (combustion) in an Underground
Storage Cavern
Three elements are necessary to get an explosion (combustion):
- Flammable fluid (vapour)
- Air (oxygen)
- Ignition source (spark)

Figure 4: Cavern with fixed water-bed.

(Illustration: Finncavern Ltd Oy / Neste Oy)

Air supply inside the cavern is the easiest factor to

control in connection with underground storage. It is
impossible to eliminate an ignition source because of
electrostatic discharges between the rock mass and the
product, and between the rock mass and installations
inside the cavern. Mineral content in the rock decide
how vulnerable the rock mass is.

DEVELOPMENT OF STORAGE
METHODS
Variable Water-Bed
As mentioned above, the first caverns were used for fuel
oil, i.e. a class C fluid which does not produce flammable vapours. When class A fluids (crude oil, petrol,
naphtha) began to be stored in caverns, it was necessary to prevent air from entering into the cavern when
the product was pumped out. A method with a variable
water-bed was developed (Figure 5). The level of product in the cavern is kept constant at the top of the cavern,
while water is pumped into the cavern at equivalent rate
as the product is pumped out.

Figure 5: Cavern with a fluctuating water-bed.

(Illustration: Finncavern Ltd Oy / Neste Oy)

Advantages and disadvantages with variable water-bed

are summarized in Table 1. The disadvantages clearly
outweigh the advantages so that the method is not used
in new storage facilities.

ADVANTAGES
No gas which needs cleaning is taken out of the cavern
and no air is let into the cavern.
Operation with atmospheric pressure inside the cavern;
not necessary with a cavern deep below the ground water
level.

DISADVANTAGES
Large energy consumption for pumping water in and
out.
Management and maintenance of a large cleaning plant
for the water is expensive.
Large contact area between product and water.

Table 1: The table summarizes advantages and disadvantages with a fluctuating water-bed.

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STORAGE UNDER PRESSURE

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gas law most closely. Products with a high vapour pressure, like propane doesnt follow the ideal gas law at all.
When there are small changes in pressure or temperature, evaporation and condensation will occur almost
instantaneously. Storage for propane under pressure
does therefore not need 25% extra gas volume, but can
be filled up to the ceiling.

To avoid the disadvantages mentioned in Table 1 and

to avoid leaky storages, it became necessary to store
the products under pressure. The cavern will then act
like a closed pressure tank which operates with variable
pressure. It is therefore necessary with a deep location
so that the ground water pressure balance the pressure inside the cavern. Today the caverns are normally
designed for operation between +1.5 bars and -0.5 bar,
a level that has been optimum in most cases. With a
maximum operation pressure at +1.5 bars, the top of the
cavern needs to be located at least 35 m (15 + 20) below
the ground water table (Figure 6).

Vapour pressure for propane is at about 6 barg at 10 C.

The top of a propane cavern must therefore be located
at least 80 m below the ground water table. In a warmer
climate, the vapour pressure is higher (about 8 barg
at 20 C gives a location of at least 100 m below the
ground water table).

UNDERGROUND PUMP ROOM

Only submersible pumps are used in modern underground storage facilities. These pumps are submerged
in the product and are directly connected to the end of
the discharge pipe. The discharge pipe is hanging freely
inside a pipe sleeve, and is suspended from the ground
surface. (Figure 7).These pumps are usually electrically
driven with the motor directly connected to the pump,
and the motor must be pressure sealed to avoid contact
with the product. Hydraulically driven pumps have also
been used in some special cases.

Figure 6: Storage under pressure. Principles with storage

under pressure together with the margin of safety.
(Illustration: Norconsult)

With a closed cavern and a maximum operating pressure

it becomes necessary to have a gas cushion which can
expand and compress with a varying level of product
in the cavern. The law of ideal gases with constant
temperature says pressure * volume = constant. With
variations in pressure between +1.5 bar and -0.5 bar,
there is a need for 25 % extra gas volume in the cavern
(i.e. if the storage volume needed is 100 000 m3, it is
necessary to make a cavern of 125 000 m3). This is an
extra cost, but compensates for the disadvantages with
variable water-bed.

Figure 7: Submersible pumps in a LPG storage.

(Illustration: Neste Oy)

Vapours from oil products are not ideal gases.

Evaporation and condensation will influence the pressure inside the cavern. This will stabilise the pressure
around the vapour pressure of the product over a period
and make the calculations conservative. Vapours from
products with low vapour pressure will follow the ideal

During the 1970s many storage facilities with an underground pump room were constructed (Figure 8). The
capacity of submerged pumps was too low at that time,
only about 1000 m3/hour. For an oil terminal a tanker
loading capacity of about 18 000 m3/hour would be
required, which made it impractical and too expensive
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to use submerged pumps. Using 3 conventional centrifugal pumps with 6000 m3/hour capacity each the job
could easily be accomplished.

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To solve this problem, horizontal water curtains was

drilled from small tunnels above the caverns or from the
ground surface (Figure 10). The pressure in these water
curtains are maintained at a few metre above the ground
water level.
Water curtains between the caverns are also necessary to avoid product leakage to neighbouring caverns
(Figure 10). Cross-leakage of product must be prevented between caverns with different products, while
cross-leakage between caverns with the same product
will usually be allowed. In the illustration below there
are three different products with two caverns for each
product. The water curtains for cross-leakage prevention
are drilled from the same small tunnels as mentioned
above or from the surface. The distance between the
drill holes is dependant on the permeability of the rock,
and the experience of the designer.

Figure 8: Underground pump room. Dry pump rooms were

built in the 70s when submerged pumps did not have enough
capacity. (Illustration: Neste Oy)

Figure 10: Water curtains drilled from small tunnels above

the caverns. (Illustration: Norconsult)

Bacterial growth in water curtains

Water curtains to prevent leakage between caverns must
be established before the product is introduced to the
caverns. There are examples showing that water curtains
established later have been plugged by bacterial growth.
Oil consuming bacteria living in the interface between
oil and water make parts of the oil into an organic
polymer. This is a reddish brown, slimy material which
plugs the drill holes and destroys the efficiency of the
water curtain system. The material is observed in most
underground oil storage plants, and commonly in the
water-bed (the interface between water and product at
the bottom of the cavern).

Figure 9: Overview of underground storage caverns and

pump room. Pump rooms marked yellow.
(Illustration: Norconsult)

Underground pump room is an expensive solution and

has a number of safety problems:
- Fire- and explosion danger in connection with maintenance (especially class A fluids).
- Need for extensive fire detection- and extinguishing
systems.
- Need for powerful ventilation.
- Emergency exits from the pump room 80-100 m below
the surface are necessary.
- Water curtains are necessary to avoid leakage from the
caverns into the pump room.

Analyses have shown that optimum conditions for these

oil consuming bacteria are when the water has a pH at
about 9. There is no bacterial growth when pH < 4 or pH
> 11. Cleaning of the drill holes has been efficient when
a 15 % hypochlorite solution is used (15 ml/m3 water).
Chlorination must probably be repeated at regular intervals to avoid new bacterial growth. Anti-icing additives
also restrain the bacterial growth, but the solubility in
water is 200 times better than in the product. The additives will quickly disappear into the ground water and
be a pollutant. The additives must therefore be added
after the product is pumped out of the cavern.

Due to the higher cost and the safety problems described

above, the pump room solution is no longer used for
new facilities.

WATER CURTAINS
For a cavern located a few meters below the ground
water level and operating at atmospheric pressure, the
water above the cavern will normally drain into the
cavern. When storage under pressure was planned, it
became important to maintain the ground water level
above the cavern at a proper level to avoid gas blowouts.

Dry caverns to avoid microbiological growth

Microbiological growth inside the caverns has been
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observed in connection with most oil products. This is

a problem for both underground storage and storage in
steel tanks. Micro-organisms do not live only from oil
products. Free water containing sulphates and oxygen,
or total lack of oxygen is vital necessities for the different oil reducing bacteria and fungi which may develop.
The growth depends on the temperature; below 10 C
the growth is very low for most bacteria. Caverns in
a cold climate therefore have favourable conditions
regarding microbiological growth.

Storage of ethylene (C2) at -100 C and a pressure of

0.5 barg has been attempted. Start-up of the cavern
had to be aborted due to fracturing of the rock mass
at the bottom corners of the cavern causing extensive
water ingress and consequently uncontrollable boil-off.
The cavern was, however, later successfully converted
to storage of propane at -35 C and pressure of about
0.7 barg.

Micro-organisms depend on water to be able to live and

multiply, and it is natural to look at methods which can
reduce the interface area between product and water.
Concrete floor with a slope towards narrow channels
along the side walls will reduce the water contact
extensively at the bottom of the cavern. The channels
slope in the longitudinal direction of the cavern and
drain to the pump sump where the water is pumped out.
An umbrella below the ceiling in the cavern may be
installed to collect drops of water and lead it through
gutters to the bottom channels.

LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) is normally stored in

nickel steel tanks with single or double containment
to prevent catastrophic failure of the tank. The tanks
are heavily insulated to maintain the temperature of
the methane at minus 162o C at atmospheric pressure.
This solution is very expensive mainly due to the costly
nickel steel that must be utilised due to the low temperatures.

STORAGE OF LNG IN UNLINED

CAVERNS

Underground storage of LNG in caverns without insulation has been tried in USA, England and Finland, but all
attempts have failed due to high boil-off rates and rock
stability problems.

REFRIGERATED STORAGE OF GAS

Propane (C3) may be stored in caverns either under
full pressure or cooled down to about -42 C at atmospherically pressure. It may also be stored at any point
on the pressure/temperature curve between these two
extremes.

Norconsult AS has developed a method for storage of

LNG in caverns. To avoid fracturing in the rock mass
and to control the boil-off as quickly as possible, insulation has be used between the inner concrete tank and
the rock. Bentonite clay is used as membrane instead
of expensive nickel steel between the insulation and
the rock. The bentonite does not crack at extremely low
temperatures and it is impervious the LNG. Successful
scale testing has been performed by SINTEF and patents on the method have been granted in Norway and
several other countries (Figures 12 and 13).

Figure 11 illustrates the results of a computer simulation

for cool-down of a propane cavern. The curves around
the caverns are the locations of the 0o C isotherm from
10 to 20 years after start-up of the cavern. It is clearly
seen that the propagation of the isotherm towards the
ground surface has been stopped due to heat influx from
the surface. On the other hand the isotherm on the bottom and the sides will continue to extend outward for
another 20 years before a steady-state is reached.

The method has several advantages.

Expensive nickel steel is replaced by cheap bentonite
which is available in most countries.
It is constructed from materials readily available, and
there is no complicated welding of special steel.
When constructed in caverns it is very well protected
from catastrophic failures.
The method also covers construction in the ground or
on the ground. An outside concrete tank then replaces
the rock cavern.

STORAGE METHODS AND PRODUCTS

Table 2 gives an overview of products that may be
stored in caverns together with storage method.

ADVANTAGES WITH UNDERGROUND

STORAGE COMPARED TO SURFACE
STEEL TANKS

Figure 11: Refrigerated storage of propane. The 0 C isotherms from 10 to 20 years after start-up are shown.
(Illustration: Norconsult)

The costs for construction, management and maintenance are lower for underground storage.
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Figure 12: Vertical cross-section of underground storage of

LNG developed by Norconsult AS.
(Illustration: Norconsult)

Figure 13: Underground storage of LNG developed by

Norconsult AS, horizontal section. (Illustration: Norconsult)

It is possible to build below existing facilities, even

process areas, and thereby getting double use of the
property.
An underground storage is better protected against oil
spills and fire disasters, and is environmentally better
because of lower discharges to air and water.

The underground facilities are also much better protected against sabotage.
The product quality is better maintained for long time
storage because of stable temperatures inside the caverns.

GASES
LNG ((C1) with insulation)
Ethylene (C2)
Propane (C3)
Propane (C3)
Butane (C4)
FLUIDS (C5 - C8)
-Naphtha
-Motor petrol
-Diesel oil
-Jet A-1
-Heavy oil
-Crude oil

REFRIGERATED OR UNDER PRESSURE

-162 C, atmospheric pressure
-100 C (may be possible even if unsuccessful the first time)
-42 C, atmospheric pressure
+10 C at about 6 barg
+10 C at about 1,2 barg (refrigerated butane is not possible
because storage temperature is too close to the freezing point for water)
UNDER PRESSURE (-0.5 TO +0.5 BARG)
Dry concrete bottom
Dry concrete bottom
Dry concrete bottom
Dry concrete bottom, umbrella
Water-bed / with heating
Water-bed /with heating of heavy crudes

Table 2: Overview of products that may be stored in unlined caverns

REFERENCES
1. Neste Oy Brochure (December 1976): Underground
Caverns - Safe, Economical, Non-Polluting, 16
pages

3. SENTAB / Skanska Cementgjuteriet Brochures on

Underground Cavern Storage

2. Finncavern Ltd Oy Brochure (1980): The Idea of

Underground Oil Storing, 16 pages
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