Publications

Bryan Mound SPR cavern 113 remedial leach stage 1 analysis

Weber, Paula D.; Lord, David L.

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve implemented the first stage of a leach plan in 2011-2012 to expand storage volume in the existing Bryan Mound 113 cavern from a starting volume of 7.4 million barrels (MMB) to its design volume of 11.2 MMB. The first stage was terminated several months earlier than expected in August, 2012, as the upper section of the leach zone expanded outward more quickly than design. The oil-brine interface was then re-positioned with the intent to resume leaching in the second stage configuration. This report evaluates the as-built configuration of the cavern at the end of the first stage, and recommends changes to the second stage plan in order to accommodate for the variance between the first stage plan and the as-built cavern. SANSMIC leach code simulations are presented and compared with sonar surveys in order to aid in the analysis and offer projections of likely outcomes from the revised plan for the second stage leach.