OIL CAVERNS Risk mitigation through awareness and vigilance

Thierry YOU
OSR2G Nancy Fr 2013

Geotechnical Risk Mitigation for Hydrocarbon Storage

Panorama of Hydrocarbon Storage
Design Methodology Feedbacks Conclusions

OSR2G Nancy Fr2013

Geotechnical Risks

Reference list
- Manuel de Mcanique des roches Tome III - EC7 Eurocode 7 - NF94-500 Geotechnical Tasks - ISRM WG Design Methodology, Hudson & Feng - ASCE Geotechnical Baseline Report - AFTES GT1, GT25, GT32

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Gostock Expertise
Different types of hydrocarbon storage:
Salt leached caverns

Mined cavern

Aquifer, depleted field

Natural Gas, LPG, liquid hydrocarbons

LPG, Liquid Hydrocarbons

Natural Gas

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Underground storage Mined caverns technologies

MINED CAVERN DISSUSED MINES

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Underground storage Mined caverns technologies

Lavera LPG Storage Caverns

Lavera Butane Cavern Construction OSR2G Nancy Fr2013

Operation Shaft Area

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Construction of mined caverns

Geostock Designer or owners assistant:
UNDERGROUND STORAGE IN MINED CAVERN GEOSTOCK EXPERIENCE
6 25

SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS COMPLETED

5 20

4 15 3 10 2

5 1

1967

1969

1971

1973

1975

1977

1979

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

2005

2007

2009

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2011

CAVERNS COMPLETED (CUMULATIVE)

7

CAVERNS CONSTRUCTION

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Mined caverns technologies and associated risks

Principes
Stability Operability

Hydraulic Containment

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UNDERGROUND STORAGE MINED CAVERNS TECHNOLOGIES

Caverns are unlined Tightness only depends on natural convergent flowrates from the rockmass towards the cavern : this is the hydrodynamic containment principle

Containment principle = HYDRODYNAMIC PRINCIPLE

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UNDERGROUND STORAGE MINED CAVERNS TECHNOLOGIES Product containment Criteria

ground level

water table
water gallery water curtain

flow-lines
unlined caverns

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maj 11/01

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Operation shafts

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Various lay-out adapted to geological conditions

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UNDERGROUND STORAGE MINED CAVERNS TECHNOLOGIES

Diesel Oil Storage of Maysur-Orne

Upper Levels (Morts terrains)

Access Shaft (Fontenay-le-Marmion)

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Cavern dimensions: large variations

Volume :
from 8 000 m3 (LPG) to 2 Mm3 (Crude Oil)

Height:
from 6 m (chalk) to 32 m (granite / gneiss)

Section :
Up to 650 m

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UNDERGROUND STORAGE MINED CAVERNS

CONSTRUCTION METHODOLOGY
U-1 Crude Oil Cavern Pyongtaek LPG Cavern

30m

18m

17.5m

22m

12.8m

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UNDERGROUND STORAGE DESIGN METHODOLOGY

A mined storage cavern is neither

A mine A civil work

A laboratory

But our design team learns from all and from all projects

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Methodology & Codes why?

(Drawing from a cartoon in a brochure on rockfalls published by the Department of Mines of Western Australia)

Rockbolting alternatives based on a individual judgement.

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Underground storage Mined caverns

GEOGAZ - LAVERA Propane and Butane Storage Caverns Layout

GEOGAZ - Propane GEOGAZ - Butane

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SIMPLIFIED DESIGN CHART FOR ROCK ENGINEERING ( BIENIAWSKY - 1987 )

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Typical mode of failure, rock falls

J. Fine 1993 OSR2G Nancy Fr2013 24

Flowchart of rock mechanics modeling and rock engineering design approaches

(Feung and Hudson, 2004).

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Typical failure modes of large underground cavern group and its related tunnels

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Specificities of large sections

Likelihood of toe/wall failure

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Conclusions 1
Methodological advance will bring us huge progresses but also brakes to new ideas.

We still have to learn!

Feedback loops and validations remain essential. No theory can be considered satisfactory until it has been adequately checked by actual observations. Prof. Ralf B. Peck.

Designers and regulatory bodies tend to place increasingly reliance on analytical procedures of growing complexity and to discount judgement as a nonquantitive, undependable contributor to design Prof. Ralf B. Peck.

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Mined Caverns ULSAN (South Korea)

Owner: SK-GAS 310 000 m3 Propane - 240 000 m3 Butane
Main features:

Parallel galleries Andesite and metasedimentary sandstone Depth: 119 m (propane) - 63 m (butane) Propane: length 830 m - Section 308 m2 Butane: length 629 m - Section 342 m2 Beginning of construction: 1984 Commissioning: 1988

Main Geotechnical features:

Fault crossing Careful mapping Rock fall and repair works Scale effect on wedges

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Mined Caverns SYDNEY (Australia)

Main Geotechnical features:
Highly anisotropic environment High horizontal stresses Roof falls Grouting works Smooth blasting and tolerance control Difficult construction supervision and contractual environment Design model difficulties Post construction environment

Owner: ELGAS 83 000 m3 Propane

Main features:

Parallel galleries - Sandstone Length: 910 m - Section 142 m3 Depth: 124 m Beginning of construction: 1996 Commissioning: 2000

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ROCK FALL EXPLANATIONS (20+)

A large number of explanations were put forward by the parties involved, many of them with ulterior motives: unsuitable section, inappropriate and damaging explosive, poor workmanship (drilling, bolting, etc.), untested rock bolts, too differed bolt grouting, poor site organisation, unsuitable numerical and structural models, underdesigned rockbolts, inappropriate bolting patterns, unsuitable excavation sequence, poor and inefficient quality control, lack of design methodology (EC7), lack of monitoring and inspection, unforeseen stress release, random vertical joints, lack of spot bolt decision on visible instabilities, inclined defects in sheet facies, too high water pressure imposed in the fissures, etc. At that stage, none of the specified monitoring measures that had been prepared for design validation (geological joint mapping, convergence measurement, profile mapping, pull-out test, etc.), that certainly would have helped as new design basic data, had been implemented. Maintaining roof integrity was crucial for stability, as was established latter (You et al. Johannesburg ISRM2003)
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Mined Caverns VISAKHPATNAM (India)

Owner: SALPG 127 600 m3 Propane - Butane mixture
Main features:
Parallel galleries + 1 central access tunnel Depth: 162m/msl Length: 342 m Section: 338 m2 2 operation shafts Construction: 2004-2007

900
elliptic - crown
Sv = 48 bar haunch 3.5 Sv H crown sidewall

Main Geotechnical features:

800 700 600

Tangential stress (bar)

Design adaptation High horizontal stress consideration Joint opening model

W

ovaloid - crown rectangle - haunch elliptic - sidewall ovaloid - sidewall rectangle - sidewall

500 400 300 200 100 0 -100 -200 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

1.6

1.7

1.8

1.9

2.1

Slenderness W/H

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Feedbacks
DURING SITE INVESTIGATION : Supervision by design team during drilling and testing
==> RQD on fresh cores ==> representative sample selection ==> site adaptation of water test

DURING CONSTRUCTION : GEO SURVEY sometime after each blast

==> cartography geo-geo-hydro+ geometry ==> rock quality i.e. Q factor ==> adaptative support ==> water monitoring

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Specificity of large caverns(2)

Need of a fine tuned structural investigation in order to adapt bolt support:
MUW-10 MUW-6 MUW-8

MUA1 W

MUA2 W

MUB1 W

MUB2 W

V.10.215

Section V9 Ch.242.6

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V.6.287

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GEOTECHNICAL RISKS
Geological Mapping: collection and interpretations

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Mined Caverns GARGENVILLE (near Paris - France)

Main features:
Chalk Galleries EW and NS Length: 1400 m (EW) - 1300 m (NS) Section: 49 m2 Depth: 132 m Beginning of construction: 1972 Commissioning: 1977 Abandonment: 2008+

Owner: GEOVEXIN 130 000 m3 Propane

Main Geotechnical features:

Post peak behavior Construction tolerances Importance of construction record and operation monitoring Adaptative design Closure design for abandonment procedure

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LPG underground storage Operation shaft

LPG outlet LPG inlet dewatering vent

gas LPG liquid LPG water clay concrete fail safe valve CAVERN

instrumentation

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LPG pumps

water pumps

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Maj 08/98

STEPS OF GEOTECHNICAL RISK MANAGEMENT ( From AFTES GT 32+..)

1) Risk identification:
Each project is a prototype, no universal approach available

2) Hierarchize, assess and evaluate the risk:

Danger of subjectivity, explain to share

3) Risk treatment ( risk matrix, risk register, event tree)

Share between parties, role of insurance ( GBR, GDR)

4) Monitor and control

Check actions, vigilance

5) Memorize and capitalise lessons learned ( feedbacks)

Difficult but needed.

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Project studies and phasing

Project Development

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Risk Tree
Weathering Ageing of supports Seismic shaking

prepared for one known mined cavern storage 1/2

1 of rock walls 2 3

A
Collapse of Cavern or Accesses

Possible exclusion under certain conditions (INERIS DRS-09-103911-09771A) Local or general collapse

Increase of interstitial 4 pressure and gradients Zone poorly supplied with natural water

11
Local increase of permeability on walls

D
Local drop of hydraulic gradient and confinement.

C
Cavern pressure exceeding critical pressure for leak

Loss of hydrodynamic containment of the cavern

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Squence 2 : Risk assessment (2/2)

J. PIRAUD Incertitudes et risques gotechniques - 29/01/13
Matrice des risques
Vraisemblance

Possible Peu Probable Trs peu Probable Improbable

4 3 2 1 Faibles

8 6 4 2 Moyennes

12 9 6 3 Fortes

16 12 8 4 Trs fortes

Consquences

Exemple of risk matrix

Colours represent the resulting level of risk for each event
(green : acceptable without further action ; red unacceptable risk).

The level of risk related to an event may be deemed more or les acceptable depending of targets and priority of Owner. Decision to take action against a risk is therefore a task devoted to Owners and Engineers.

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Conclusions 2
Discover the truth through practice and again through practice verify and develop the truth- Mao Tse Toung Nature to be commanded must be obeyed- Francis Bacon

Complexity of geotechnical risks encourage us toward the virtue of humility and listening.
We need to carry out a vast amount of observational work, but what we do should be done for a purpose and done well- R.B.Peck Awareness and vigilance naturally lead to design validation and monitoring. Feedbacks and Design Validation Loops remain essential. If something is discovered that does not agree with the hypothesis, rejoice! You can then really learn something new. You are on your way to an understanding of the problem. Ralf B. Peck.