Une mesure de la perméabilité et du fluage d'une caverne dans le sel

Rock mass properties diff er significanùy from those measured on sam pies in the laboratory. A test has been performed on a deep brine-fi.lled ca vern, with the objective of measuring the equilibrium pressure reached when the ca vern was closed. Such an equilibrium is reached when salt mass creep, which leads to cavern shrinkage, balances brine permeation through the ca vern wall. A K = 2·10-19 m 2 value of the average in situ intrinsic permeability has been deduced from the test; it is significantly higher than the intrinsic permeability measured in a weil or in the laboratory. This result supports ca vern abandonment scenarios in which the risk of natural fracturation due to high brine pressures is alleviated.Les propriétés d'un massif rocheux sont en général différentes de celles mesurées au laboratoire sur un échantillon. On a cherché la pression d'équilibre à laquelle se stabilise la saumure contenue dans une cavité souterraine profonde fermée. Cet équilibre résulte de l'action du fluage du massif, qui tend à refermer la cavité, et de la perméation de la saumure à travers les parois de la cavité. On déduit de la valeur d'équilibre mesurée une perméabilité intrinsèque moyenne de l'ordre de $K = 2·10^{-19}\text{m}^2$, sensiblement plus forte que les valeurs estimées antérieurement sur des échantillons ou dans un puits. Ce résultat permet de construire un scénario du comportement de la caverne après abandon, qui exclut le risque de fracturation naturelle

Pressure Build-up in a Sealed Cavern: Effect of a Gas Blanket

International audienc

A Salt-cavern abandonment test

Thousands of caverns have been leached out from deep salt formations. They are used for saturated brine production and/or hydrocarbons storage. They will be abandoned some day: the access well will be plugged with cement, isolating a large bubble of saturated brine. The later evolution of such a bubble raises serious concerns for environmental protection; salt creep and brine thermal expansion can lead to brine pressure build-up and rock-mass fracture, then brine seepage can lead to pollution of overlying water-bearing strata. Taking into account salt formation permeability leads to less pessimistic scenarios. An 18-month test has been performed on a deep brine-filled cavern. The objective was to measure the brine equilibrium pressure reached when the cavern is closed. Such an equilibrium is reached when salt mass creep, which leads to cavern shrinkage, balances brine permeation through the cavern wall. This objective was met by imposing different pressure levels and observing whether the pressure increased (or decreased) with respect to time. Data misinterpretation (i.e., a well leak instead of a cavern-proper leak) was precluded by a special monitoring system. The observed equilibrium pressure was significantly smaller than geostatic pressure, alleviating any fracture risk for a sealed and abandoned cavern in this salt formation

A Salt-cavern abandonment test

Thousands of caverns have been leached out from deep salt formations. They are used for saturated brine production and/or hydrocarbons storage. They will be abandoned some day: the access well will be plugged with cement, isolating a large bubble of saturated brine. The later evolution of such a bubble raises serious concerns for environmental protection; salt creep and brine thermal expansion can lead to brine pressure build-up and rock-mass fracture, then brine seepage can lead to pollution of overlying water-bearing strata. Taking into account salt formation permeability leads to less pessimistic scenarios. An 18-month test has been performed on a deep brine-filled cavern. The objective was to measure the brine equilibrium pressure reached when the cavern is closed. Such an equilibrium is reached when salt mass creep, which leads to cavern shrinkage, balances brine permeation through the cavern wall. This objective was met by imposing different pressure levels and observing whether the pressure increased (or decreased) with respect to time. Data misinterpretation (i.e., a well leak instead of a cavern-proper leak) was precluded by a special monitoring system. The observed equilibrium pressure was significantly smaller than geostatic pressure, alleviating any fracture risk for a sealed and abandoned cavern in this salt formation