Underground capabilities
KBB UT’s service capabilities cover all underground aspects of storage systems right up to the initial filling of the finished storage system:
Preliminary studies and consulting
|
- Preliminary studies serve to represent construction process from the approval phase to filling to commissioning, including critical components such as time schedule and cost estimate
- Consulting/due diligence
|
|
Geology
|
KBB UT performs all critical geological examinations required for building underground storage facilities, up to and including the final comprehensive study and assessment. We:
- Explore and assess the subsoil with respect to building a cavern or facility for storage in porous media using seismic, drilling and analytical data
- Prepare geological models based on exploration data for building a cavern or facility for storage in porous media
- Plan and assess costs for cavern, exploration or storage drilling operations
- Provide support for the geological supervision of wells to be drilled (well geology) including analysing core samples with respect to salt composition and stratigraphy
- Supervise and evaluate borehole measurements during drilling
- Measure rock density of the overlying rock layers as part of later calculation of the rock mechanics
- Geological studies
|
 |
Drilling technology, completion, snubbing
|
- All services required for planning and implementing drilling and completion projects
- Feasibility studies
- Preliminary planning and detailed planning
- Implementation planning (prepare specifications and work programs)
- We plan, prepare and supervise:
- Cavern drilling completion (installation of production pipes, underground equipment and security equipment)
- Cavern snubbing near the end of gas filling or for flooding decommissioned caverns
- Production of the final documentation
- We provide experienced supervisors
|
 |
Gas tightness testing
|
- Planning and designing gas tightness tests
- On-site support
- Evaluate tests and submit the results to the authorities
- Final documentation
|
 |
Laboratory examinations
|
- Chemical analysis of salt core samples, fresh water and brine
- Examine long-term stability of stored hydrocarbons
|
 |
Brine technology
|
- We prepare brine process schemes and simulations
- We supervise and control brine processes during cavern construction as well as initial gas filling (backup), including use database systems
- We plan and supervise workovers
- We monitor and evaluate cavities, prepare historic matches and modify parameters
- We monitor and document operational data for the brine production process
|
 |
Rock mechanics
|
- We provide rock mechanics and thermodynamic consulting services for constructing and operating caverns.
- We provide engineering solutions for rock mechanical recommendations, e.g. by performing simulation calculations
- We provide forecasts on convergence and surface settling caused by cavern operation
- We develop schemes and tools for supporting cavern operations according to expert recommendations
|
 |
|
|
Thermodynamic studies
|
- Thermodynamic simulation of gas cavern operation including the brine phase
- Simulation of different storage media (natural gas, compressed air, hydrogen and CO2) using a proprietary simulation tool, among others
- Determining cavern operation design characteristics
|
 |
Hydraulic calculations
|
- Calculations of gases and liquids in pipeline systems and during cavern operation
|
|
|
|
Gas first fill
|
- Scheduling all processes, taking the external situation into account
- Creation of a model showing profiles for pressure, required gas quantity and brine volume produced as well as a gas breakthrough forecast
- Monitoring all completion and measurement activities
- Monitoring initial gas filling 24/7
- Assessment of measurement results and modification of the initial model
|
 |
|
