M00044385
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API RP 1115 Operation of Solution-Mined Underground Storage Facilities, Second Edition
standard by American Petroleum Institute, 11/01/2018
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Design and Operation of Solution-mined Salt Caverns
Used for Liquid Hydrocarbon Storage
API RECOMMENDED PRACTICE 1115 SECOND EDITION, NOVEMBER 2018
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Copyright © 2018 American Petroleum Institute
Foreword
This document supersedes both the 2nd Edition of API Recommended Practice 1114, and the 1st edition of API Recommended Practice 1115.
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This document was produced under API standardization procedures that ensure appropriate notification and participation in the developmental process and is designated as an API standard. Questions concerning the interpretation of the content of this publication or comments and questions concerning the procedures under which this publication was developed should be directed in writing to the Director of Standards, American Petroleum Institute, 1220 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005. Requests for permission to reproduce or translate all or any part of the material published herein should also be addressed to the director.
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Contents
Page
Scope 1
Overview 1
Applicable Rules and Regulations 1
Normative References 2
Terms, Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations 2
Terms and Definitions 2
Acronyms and Abbreviations 9
Overview of Underground Liquids Storage 10
General 10
Functional Integrity 10
Overview of Major Steps in the Development of Liquid Storage Caverns 10
Geological and Geomechanical Evaluation 13
General Considerations 13
Site Selection Criteria 13
Geologic Site Characterization 14
Geomechanical Site Evaluation 22
Assessment of Cavern Stability and Geomechanical Performance 27
Cavern and Well Design 28
General 28
Cavern Spacing Constraints 30
Hole Section Design 31
Casing Design 34
Wellhead Design 37
Storage Volume 41
Displacement-fluid Characteristics 42
Product Characteristics 42
Drilling 42
Preliminary Considerations 42
Rig and Equipment 43
Drilling Fluids 45
Drilling Guidelines 46
Logging 47
Casing Handling and Running 48
Cementing 48
Completion 52
Cavern Solution Mining 52
General 52
Cavern Solution-mining Design 52
Cavern Development Phases and Control 56
Instrumentation, Control, and Shut Down 64
Cavern Monitoring 65
Workovers During Solution Mining 67
Workover to Configure for Liquid Hydrocarbon Storage Service 68
Existing Cavern Conversions 69
Cavern Enlargement 71
Liquid Hydrocarbon Storage Operations 71
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Contents
Page
Facilities and Equipment 71
Minimum and Maximum Operating Limits 74
Backwash Operations 75
Equipment 75
Instrumentation, Control, and Shutdown 76
Inspection and Testing 77
Workovers 78
Site Security and Safety 79
Operating Administration 81
Cavern Integrity Monitoring 83
General 83
Holistic and Comprehensive Approach 86
Integrity Monitoring Program 86
Review of Integrity Monitoring Methods 86
Inactive Caverns 86
Cavern Abandonment 87
Objectives 87
Abandonment Design 87
Removal of Stored Product 87
Wellbore Integrity Test 87
Removal of Downhole Equipment 87
Production Casing Inspection 88
Sonar Survey 88
Risk Management for Liquid Hydrocarbon Storage Operations 88
General 88
Risk Management 88
Data Collection and Integration 88
Threat and Hazard Identification and Analysis 88
Preventive and Mitigative (P&M) Measures 89
Risk Assessment 94
Periodic Review and Reassessment 94
Recordkeeping 95
Annex A (informative) Open-hole Well Logs 96
Annex B (normative) Integrity Monitoring Methods 99
Annex C (informative) Brine Tables 102
Bibliography 103
Figures
Simplified Salt Dome Storage Cavern Schematic 12
Typical Cemented Casing Program for Domal Salt 33
Typical Solution-mining Wellhead 38
Typical Liquid Hydrocarbon Storage Wellhead with Hanging String 39
Solution-mining Methods 55
Cavern Development Phases 57
Tables
Integrity Monitoring Methods 84
Potential Threats and Consequences/Preventive and Mitigative Programs 89
vi
Design and Operation of Solution-mined Salt Caverns Used for Liquid Hydrocarbon Storage
This recommended practice (RP) provides the functional recommendations for salt cavern facilities used for liquid hydrocarbon storage service and covers facility geomechanical assessments, cavern well design and drilling, and solution mining techniques and operations, including monitoring and maintenance practices. This RP is based on the accumulated knowledge and experience of geologists, engineers, and other personnel in the liquid hydrocarbon storage industry and promotes public safety by providing a set of industry accepted design and operation guidelines. This RP recognizes the nature of subsurface geological diversity and stresses the need for in-depth, site-specific geomechanical assessments, with a goal of long-term facility integrity and safety.
This RP includes the cavern well system (wellhead, wellbore, and cavern) from the emergency shutdown (ESD) valve to the cavern and facilities that have a significant impact on the safety and integrity of the cavern system. It also includes a structure for risk assessment for salt cavern facilities used for liquid hydrocarbon storage service.
This RP may be applied to existing facilities at the discretion of the user.
This RP does not apply to caverns used for the storage of gaseous products, natural gas, brine production, or waste disposal, nor to caverns that are mechanically mined, or depleted hydrocarbon or aquifer underground gas storage systems. This RP does not cover facility piping.
Storage of liquid hydrocarbons in solution-mined salt caverns has been utilized in the United States since the late 1940s. Today, storage of liquid hydrocarbons in caverns developed in both domal and bedded salt formations is utilized throughout the world.
Salt caverns can act as long-term, seasonal storage vessels; or they may serve as short-term, operational storage. Caverns can also be inserted into the production plant/pipeline systems to prevent supply interruptions when maintenance or emergency shutdowns occur, or to “float” on pipelines to optimize operations.
Storage of liquid hydrocarbons in a salt cavern may require careful review to ensure that the product is compatible with the salt. Chemical and physical properties of the salt at the cavern depth and at the pressure anticipated should be reviewed to verify that unwanted chemical or physical reactions do not occur. Incompatibility of product and salt is rarely a problem for most hydrocarbons. Examples of exceptions are storage in salt caverns where sulfides are present and storage of jet fuels with de-icing agents that absorb water.
In summary, storage of liquid hydrocarbons in salt caverns can provide an economical, safe, and environmentally sound method to store large quantities of compatible materials.
This document was written to provide a technical reference for the development and operations of solution-mined salt caverns used for the storage of liquid hydrocarbons, and is not intended to represent or reflect any regulatory requirement. Depending on location and nature of the project, the recommended practices herein may address items that are in conflict with some regulatory requirements. If this occurs, the regulatory requirement supersedes the recommended practice unless an appropriate waiver or variance is granted from the issuing agency. A thorough review of the applicable rules and regulations is to be performed prior to the design of solution-mined liquid storage caverns to ensure ongoing compliance.