Overview of Salt Cavern Oil Storage Development and Site Suitability Analysis

Abstract

Salt cavern storage, characterized by its safety, stability, large scale, economic viability, and efficiency, stands out as a cost-effective and relatively secure method for large-scale petroleum reserves. This paper provides an overview of the current development status of salt cavern storage technologies both domestically and internationally, analyzes the advantageous conditions and numerous challenges faced by salt cavern Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) storage in China, and forecasts the development trends of this technology. The conclusions indicate that China possesses all of the necessary conditions for the development of salt cavern storage. Moreover, utilizing the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), a macro suitability hierarchical evaluation system is constructed for the site selection and construction of salt cavern storage facilities. This system quantifies various site selection indicators, integrating expert opinions and findings from relevant theoretical research to establish grading standards for the suitability indices of salt cavern storage construction. Applied to the site evaluation of salt cavern storage at the Jintan Salt Mine in Jiangsu, the results indicate its high suitability for storage construction, making it an ideal location for establishing such facilities. The evaluation results are consistent with expert opinions, demonstrating the rationality of this method.