Premium
Methods of confining oil in unlined caverns in aquifers: Water table maintenance by well recharge
Author(s) -
Thunvik Roger,
Braester Carol
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr017i001p00228
Subject(s) - aquifer , phreatic , water table , groundwater recharge , geology , geotechnical engineering , petroleum engineering , flow (mathematics) , groundwater , water flow , mechanics , physics
One of the methods of petroleum storage is using unlined caverns located below the water table of an aquifer. The water pressure will exceed the oil pressure in the cavern, water will penetrate the cavern, and the oil will be confined. In order to prevent excessive lowering of the water table and to maintain a prescribed constant water level it is necessary, in most cases, to inject water into the aquifer. The influence of rock properties and of flow geometry on the rates of water flow into the cavern and on the shape of the phreatic surface were studied. The equations of flow were solved by a numerical method, and the results were presented in a dimensionless form.