CAVERN STRENGTHS
The Industry’s Most Secure Method for Storing Crude Oil
CAVERN STRENGTHS
The Industry’s Most Secure Method for Storing Crude Oil
Salt dome caverns are leached out of underground salt formations approximately a half-mile underground using a process called “solution mining.”
This process involves drilling a well into a salt formation followed by injecting fresh water, which dissolves the salt. The salt remains impervious to hydrocarbons.
By carefully controlling the water injection process, salt dome caverns of very precise dimensions can be engineered to store the crude oil. At depths that range from 2,000 to 4,000 feet, caverns are protected from natural disasters, do not leak and are not susceptible to lightning.
A STORAGE METHOD USED BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, AND THE OFFICE OF FOSSIL ENERGY