Potential capacity of gas storage caverns in rock salt bedded deposits in Poland

The subject of this article is an estimation of the initial capacity of a gas storage cavern, depending on the thickness and the depth of a bedded salt deposit, and the cavern's capacity decrease in time due to its convergence. It was assumed that the relative rate of convergence depends on the depth, the range of the storage pressure and the cavern diameter to height ratio. The discussion will consider the shape of the cavern and the pressure range of natural gas storage. Also, potential locations in Poland for natural gas storage in bedded rock salt deposits in terms of geological and mining criteria are presented in this article. Based on Zechstein isopach maps, as well as maps of its top depth, potential storage capacity maps per unit area were developed. Presented examples will cover two potential regions i.e., bedded salt deposit in the Zatoka Gdańska region and Fore-Sudetic Monocline. These maps will be the basis for the analysis of the suitability of the bedded rock salt Zechstein deposit for natural gas storage.