This session will focus on key insights based on the IGU Storage Committee report. At the moment total UGS working gas volume (WGV) of 411 billion m3 has been operated in about 737 storage facilities all over the world with the peak withdrawal rate (PWR) of some 6770 million m3 per day. Annual growth of natural gas consumption stimulates global development of UGS system. North America represents the region with the highest amount of WGV worldwide. North America is also the most developed gas market with storage originating there more than 100 years ago. For the last triennium USA shows more than 7% in WGV increasing. At the same time some regions (Europe) show decline in storage demand in short term. It is more likely that there will be more divestments and mothballing of low performance storages with parameters not reflecting current demand from market. Nations of CIS are using gas significantly. Based on favorable geological characteristic storages show relatively high representation of porous storages with high WGV but limited PWR.
Areas of focus and link to areas of strategic interest include:
- Track regions with major UGS developments: Europe, CIS, Central and Latin America, Middle East
- Advocating storage’s role in energy systems
- Case studies of new UGS projects
- Design of UGS with reduced environmental footprint
- New UGS projects
- New design for UGS
- New UGS projects with reduced footprint
- Advocating storage’s role in energy systems
- Case studies of new UGS projects
- New opportunities for UGS development
- Case studies of new storage projects
In spite of some similarities between gas production activities and underground gas storage (UGS) there are fundamental differences. Two factors make safe operation of UGS matter of special attention.
- UGS works under fluctuating pressures between maximum and minimum levels. In such conditions well casings, wellhead equipment, connections and other equipment are exposed to cycling of differently directed thermobaric stresses.
- In Underground Storage created by converting depleted oil-gas fields usually rely on a certain number of the existing production wells. Design, construction and installed equipment of these original wells may not meet current standards for storage wells. Wells constructed for oil production may not correspond to UGS requirements.
Therefore, UGS equipment should be under precise control and evaluation of its technical condition to maintain it in safe and reliable mode.
Areas of strategic interest include:
- Integrity management of UGS assets, (wells/caverns integrity management, micro-seismicity, subsidence measurement, wells/caverns-logging operations) and its practices towards a safe and reliable operation;
- Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA): major accident probability analysis, methodology, standards and norms, public advertising (for better public acceptance);
- UGS tightness monitoring (reservoirs, caprock, aquifers, landscape, soils, wells, etc.);
- Innovative and modern technology to improve safety in the following areas: maintenance and inspection; repair; replacements/renewals; emergency procedures;
- Reduction of UGS environmental footprint (aquifers contamination, leak of gas, landscape transformation and contamination), Improving societal acceptance & communication
- Integrity management of UGS assets
- Quantitative risk assessment (QRA)
- UGS tightness monitoring
- Case studies of major incidents
- Reduction of emissions and environmental footprint
Today UGS can also provide to the global energy market some new services: back-up of renewable sources of energy (solar, wind, geothermal), back-up of electric grids, price hedging in gas trade operations, storage of unconventional gases, and development of so called “Energy storage” system. Speaking about commercialization of underground gas storage, we should not forget about their core business targeted at improving reliability and flexibility of gas supplies to the market to compensate for seasonality factor, assure supplies of additional volumes in the conditions of gas consumption fluctuations, as well as to cover the peak demand.
Areas of strategic interest:
- Non hydrocarbon UGS: He, N2, CO2
- Non typical UGS (CH4+): H2, Associated gas, Shale gas, tight gas, Green gas, Coal beds methane, Synthetic methane, Petroleum gas
- Effects of concentration of other gas in natural gas on operations and safe storage and regulations
- Resolving of some scientific and technical problems related to unconventional gas storage in conventional UGS: risk of wells corrosion, destructive chemical reaction, acidification of formation water, impact on aquifers and porous rocks, etc
- Cushion gas replacement by other gases: CO2, N2, and necessary PVT conditions when substituting CH4 cushion gas by other gases
- Carbon capture and sequestration in UGS: opportunity for ensuring an acceptable continued use of natural gas in a carbon – constrained world
- Development of new technologies and R&D efforts to create “energy storage” (Power for Gas and Gas for Power technologies)
- UGS as insurance against supply risk. Timely response to demand: cold peaks, prolonged demand periods, technical failures
- UGS as optimization tool for better gas production, transportation and distribution management and hence reduction of operations and maintenance activities/costs through all gas industry chain (plateau vs. swing)
- Decreasing of volumes of flaring of associated gas trough injection it into the temporary UGS at the oil fields
- Value of storage function
- Innovations and best practices in market arrangements
- Renewable sources of energy
- Electric grids
- Price hedging in gas trade operations
- New technology for “Energy storage”
- Effects of concentration of other gas in natural gas
- Cushion gas replacement
- Carbon capture and sequestration
- Carbon – constrained world
- Power for Gas and Gas for Power technologies
- Reliability and flexibility of gas supplies
- Energy safety
- Peak demand shaving
- Insurance against supply risk
- Reduction of operations and maintenance activities/costs
- Investment optimization
Creation of a highly efficient underground gas storage system capable of assuring engineering and environmental safety, using new technologies, information technology innovations and best practices will allow reinforcement of UGS operations and management towards more sustainability and to help to assure reliable and flexible gas delivery to end use consumers. The further development of underground natural gas storage facilities is impossible without a certain progress in scientific research, high standards for analytical and experimental studies, and at the same time without a close connection between science and industry.
Areas of strategic interest include:
- Better integrated facilities & subsurface equipment (design, operation and monitoring)
- Best Practices: advanced compressors, modern drilling technology, automation and intellectualization
- 3D & 4D modeling linked to facilities models for better optimization & operations;
- Complicate geological conditions specific issues and solutions: Low permeability and/or fractured reservoirs (e.g., carbonates), adapted well design and placement, logging when drilling, opening-up of low pressure reservoirs, well operational conditions to improve Productivity Index
- Salt cavern integrated design, development and operation by integrated data and IT tools suite to improve monitoring efficiency, Technology for tunnel-type cavern construction, salt caverns with two wells
- Innovations and best practices, new technologies and research
- Increased performance of wells and deliverability
- Integrated facilities & subsurface equipment
- Modern drilling technologies
- Automation and intellectualization
- 3D & 4D simulation
- Opening-up of low pressure reservoirs
- Logging when drilling
- Salt cavern integrated design
- Tunnel-type caverns
- Caverns with two wells
