Experimental study of geophysical and transport properties of salt rocks in the context of underground energy storage

Abstract

Artificial caverns in salt rock formations play an important role in the net-zero energy transition challenge, both for covering short-term fluctuations in energy demand and serving as safe locations for long-term underground gas storage both for hydrogen and natural gas. Geophysical tools can serve for monitoring geomechanical changes in the salt cavern during selection and development, and during gas storage/extraction activities, but the use of common geophysical monitoring techniques has been very limited in this area. Here, we present experimental work on physical and transport properties of halite rocks within the energy storage context and assess the potential of seismic and electromagnetic data to monitor gas storage activities in salt formations. First, we analysed the stress-dependency of the elastic and transport properties of five halite rocks to improve our understanding on changes in the geological system during gas storage operations. Second, we conducted two dissolution tests, using cracked and intact halite samples, monitored with seismic (ultrasonic P- and S-waves velocities and their attenuation factors) and electromagnetic (electrical resistivity) sources to evaluate (i) the use of these common geophysical sensing methods to remotely interpret caverning development and (ii) the effect of structural discontinuities on rock salt dissolution. Elastic properties and permeability showed an increasing trend towards rock sealing and mechanical enhancement with increasing pressure for permeabilities above 10⁻²¹ m², with strong linear correlations up to 20 MPa. In the dissolution tests, the ultrasonic waves and electrical resistivity showed that the presence of small structural discontinuities largely impacts the dissolution patterns. Our results indicate that seismic and electromagnetic methods might help in the selection and monitoring of the caverning process and gas storage operations, contributing to the expected increase in demand of large-scale underground hydrogen storage.