Salt Dome Surface Basins for Fast, Low-Complexity Oil Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing oil storage solutions, such as steel tanks and natural underground storages, face challenges including high manufacturing and maintenance costs, complexity, limited withdrawal speed, and environmental risks, while underground storages require complex infrastructure and difficult inspections.
Innovation Solution
An oil storage system utilizing a basin formed into the surface of a salt dome, which is a geological structure, allowing for large capacity, reduced maintenance, fast withdrawal, and simplified inspection, with monitoring wells and external infrastructure components to prevent leakage and corrosion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If steel tanks are used for oil storage, then short-term storage and integration into production systems is improved, but manufacturing complexity, cost, and maintenance difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses natural salt domes as pre-existing geological structures to form storage basins, copying the beneficial properties of salt (impermeability, structural integrity) without manufacturing them. This eliminates the need to construct complex steel tanks while maintaining storage functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces expensive, complex steel tank construction with utilization of naturally occurring salt domes that require minimal preparation. The natural structure serves as the storage container, eliminating manufacturing costs and complexity associated with building steel tanks.
2Duration of action of moving object
If steel tanks are used for oil storage, then short-term storage capability is improved, but maintenance difficulty due to corrosion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention copies the corrosion-resistant properties of salt by using natural salt domes as the storage structure. Salt is inherently resistant to corrosion from oil and water, eliminating the maintenance issues associated with steel tank corrosion while maintaining long-term storage capability.
3Quantity of substance
If natural underground storages are used, then large storage capacity is improved, but withdrawal speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the vertical dimension by forming basins at the surface of salt domes rather than deep underground. This dimensional change allows large storage capacity to be achieved while maintaining fast withdrawal speeds, as oil can be accessed directly at the surface without deep well infrastructure.
4Quantity of substance
If natural underground storages are used, then large storage capacity is improved, but infrastructure complexity and construction cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention copies the beneficial containment properties of deep underground salt domes but utilizes the surface exposure of these domes to eliminate the need for complex deep well infrastructure. The natural salt dome structure provides the containment, while surface-level basins provide the storage capacity without requiring extensive subsurface infrastructure.
5Quantity of substance
If natural underground storages are used, then large storage capacity is improved, but inspection difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention moves the storage basins to the surface dimension of salt domes, transforming the inspection problem from deep underground (difficult to access) to surface level (easy to access). This dimensional change maintains large storage capacity while dramatically improving inspection ease, as basins can be visually and physically inspected without complex well intervention equipment.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure is directed to an oil storage, wherein the oil storage comprises at least one basin for receiving oil, and a salt dome that penetrates to the surface of the earth, wherein the basin is formed into a surface of the salt dome which is at the surface of the earth.