Underground Gas Storage: Worldwide Experiences and Future Development in the UK and Europe (Geological Society Special Publication No. 313)

The UK became a net importer of natural gas in 2004 and by 2020 will import up to 90% of its requirements, leaving it vulnerable to increasing energy bills and risk of disruption to supply. New pipelines to Europe and improvements to interconnectors will meet some demand, but Government recognises the need for increased gas storage capacity: best met by the construction of underground storage facilities. Energy security has also raised the likelihood of a new generation of coal-fired power-stations, which to be environmentally viable, will require clean-coal technologies with near-zero greenhouse gas emissions. A key element of this strategy will be underground CO2 storage. This volume reviews the technologies and issues involved in the underground storage of natural gas and CO2, with examples from the UK and overseas. The potential for underground storage of other gases such as hydrogen, or compressed air linked to renewable sources is also reviewed.The Geological Society of LondonFounded in 1807, the Geological Society of London is the oldest geological society in the world, and one of the largest publishers in the Earth sciences.The Society publishes a wide range of high-quality peer-reviewed titles for academics and professionals working in the geosciences, and enjoys an enviable international reputation for the quality of its work.The many areas in which we publish in include:-Petroleum geology-Tectonics, structural geology and geodynamics-Stratigraphy, sedimentology and paleontology-Volcanology, magmatic studies and geochemistry-Remote sensing-History of geology-Regional geology guides Cover......Page 1 Front matter......Page 3 Contents......Page 8 Underground gas storage: An introduction and UK perspective......Page 9 The importance of gas storage to the UK: The DECC perspective......Page 20 Gas storage: An onshore operator’s perspective......Page 23 Underground gas storage: Why and how......Page 31 A review of onshore UK salt deposits and their potential for underground gas storage......Page 44 Environmental and safety monitoring of the natural gas underground storage at Stenlille, Denmark......Page 86 Design of salt caverns for the storage of natural gas, crude oil and compressed air: Geomechanical aspects of construction, operation and abandonment......Page 98 New procedure for tightness tests (MIT) of salt cavern storage wells: Continuous high accuracy determination of relevant parameters, without the need to use radioactive tools......Page 134 Environmental issues in permitting gas storage: The Wild Goose case history......Page 143 Underground gas storage project at Welton oilfield, Lincolnshire: Local perspectives and responses to planning, environmental and community safety issues......Page 153 Well integrity: An overlooked source of risk and liability for underground natural gas storage. Lessons learned from incidents in the USA......Page 166 A review of underground fuel storage events and putting risk into perspective with other areas of the energy supply chain......Page 176 Underground hydrogen storage in the UK......Page 220 Subsurface characterization and geological monitoring of the CO2 injection operation at Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada......Page 230 Review of monitoring issues and technologies associated with the long-term underground storage of carbon dioxide......Page 260 Index......Page 279 Backtext......Page 286