Salt deposits in Lower Saxony (Germany) (LBEG, Hannover)

Large cavities can be created in geological salt formations. Such salt caverns are currently used in Germany for the storage of crude oil and natural gas. Natural gas is stored at pressures of about 250 bar, the caverns are located at depths of 1000 to 2000 m and have a geometric volume of about 500000 m3 to several million m3. The total gas storage volume in Germany of salt caverns is about 14 billion standard cubic meters, which corresponds to a geometric volume of about 70 million m3. The "pressure energy" stored in these caverns corresponds to approx. 0.35 TWh, whereby it must be taken into account that this also includes the energy stored in the cushion gas. Cushion gas is the gas portion that is required for the process but cannot be withdrawn due to technical boundary conditions, such as minimum permissible pressures.

Salt deposits world wide (after Gillhaus)

Gillhaus, A. & Horvarth, P.:”Compilation of geological and geotechnical data of worldwide domal salt deposits and domal salt cavern fields”, Hannover: KBB UT / SMRI Research Project Report