NATURAL GAS STORAGE ENGINEERING Kashy Aminian Petroleum & Natural Gas Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA. Shahab D. Mohaghegh Petroleum & Natural Gas Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA. Keywords: Gas Storage, Natural Gas, Storage, Deliverability, Inventory. Contents 1. Introduction 2. Inventory 3. Deliverability 4. Containment 5. Inventory Analysis Related Chapters Glossary Bibliography Biographical Sketch Summary Underground storage of natural gas is an efficient process that balances the variable market demand against the constant supply of natural gas from the pipelines for engineering and economic advantages. Storage reservoirs are unique warehouses that store natural gas in times of low demand and provide a ready supply of gas in times of high demand. The various attributes that impacts design and performance of the gas storage reservoirs namely inventory, deliverability, and containment are presented in detail. In addition, the various methods that are used for inventory analysis are discussed. 1. Introduction When gas is produced in one locality and consumed in another, economical transportation is essential. The most cost-effective and efficient natural gas transportation mode is through pipelines which operate at or near their design capacity. Steady need for natural gas seldom occurs. Therefore, to balance the variable market demand against the constant supply of natural gas from long- distance pipelines, gas storage preferably near the market is employed. When the pipeline capacity exceeds the market demand, the natural gas is injected into the underground storage reservoirs. When market demands exceed pipeline supply, the gas is withdrawn from the storage reservoirs to supplement the supply from Search Print this chapter Cite this chapter Page 1 of 13 NATURAL GAS STORAGE ENGINEERING 3/10/2009 http://greenplanet.eolss.net/EolssLogn/searchdt_advanced/searchdt_categorysorted.asp?cm...