Dresser-Rand HOSS™ Compressors Help Secure Energy Supply

摘要

Underground storage facilities are critical to the security of energy supply. They help balance both supply and demand as well as the differences in consumption between summer and winter months. Natural gas in storage also functions as insurance against unforeseen accidents, natural disasters or other incidents that may affect the production or delivery of natural gas. One such underground storage project at the GHG Empelde Underground Gas Storage facility located near the city of Hannover, Germany, involves storing or buffering gas in four underground salt caverns. The end goal of the project is to bring total natural gas storage in each of the caverns to an equivalent of four months of national consumption to which the GHG facility will contribute. To create a storage facility, salt beds or domes must undergo "leaching," where injected water is used to dissolve and extract the salt, leaving a large cavern formation. Natural gas is transported through nearby transmission lines and injected into the salt cavern, where it is securely stored for future use. These particular caverns are 500 meters under the earth's surface and run 1,500 meters deep and 200 meters in diameter. The natural gas is stored at a pressure of 210 barg.