Why is the crude oil stored in salt domes?
Salt dome storage has advantages in cost, security, environmental risk, and maintenance. Salt formations offer the lowest cost, most environmentally secure way to store crude oil for long periods of time. Stockpiling oil in artificially-created caverns deep within the rock-hard salt costs historically about $3.50 per barrel in capital costs. Storing oil in above-ground tanks, by comparison, can cost $15 to $18 per barrel – or at least five times the expense. Also, because the salt caverns are 2,000-4,000 feet below the surface, geologic pressures will seal any crack that develops in the salt formation, assuring that no crude oil leaks from the cavern. An added benefit is the natural temperature difference between the top of the caverns and the bottom – a distance of around 2,000 feet; the temperature differential keeps the crude oil continuously circulating in the caverns, giving the oil a consistent quality.
