Oil & Gas Geology ›› 2025, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (5): 1731-1744.doi: 10.11743/ogg20250521

• Methods and Technologies • Previous Articles    

Fault stability assessment for the safe operation of the Lei 61 underground gas storage facility in the Liaohe Basin

Chao WANG1,2(), Xiaofei FU1,2, Yejun JIN2,3, Lingdong MENG2,3(), Xianxue CHEN4, Tianguang ZHANG4, Haidong SHI1,5   

  1. 1.School of Earth Sciences,Northeast Petroleum University,Daqing,Heilongjiang 163318,China
    2.Laboratory of CNPC Fault Controlling Reservoir,Northeast Petroleum University,Daqing,Heilongjiang 163318,China
    3.Bohai Rim Energy Research Institute,Northeast Petroleum University,Qinhuangdao,Hebei 066044,China
    4.Liaohe Gas Storage Company,CNPC,Panjin,Liaoning 124010,China
    5.No. 3 Oil Production Plant of Daqing Oilfield Company Ltd. ,PetroChina,Daqing,Heilongjiang 163000,China
  • Received:2025-01-04 Revised:2025-03-31 Online:2025-10-30 Published:2025-10-29
  • Contact: Lingdong MENG E-mail:wzy3753@163.com;lingdong.Meng@hotmai.com

Abstract:

The safe operation of underground gas storage (UGS) facilities is crucial for ensuring a stable gas supply, achieving seasonal peak shaving, and securing strategic energy reserves. Fault stability is, in turn, a critical to keeping the UGS integrity. Therefore, it is essential to assess the stability of faults in a UGS facility and determine the critical pressure for fault instability. In this study, we explore the stability of faults in the Lei 61 UGS facility within the Liaohe Basin. Conventional method that assumes the frictional coefficient of faults is a fixed value, tends to overestimate the fault stability, as shown by the research results. Given that clay minerals can reduce the frictional strength, we examine the relationships of clay minerals of various types with the frictional coefficient of faults. By integrating theoretical calculations with the experimental calibration of the frictional strength, we develop a model for quantitatively characterizing the heterogeneity in the frictional strength of faults tailored to the study area. This approach enhances the scientific rigor of fault stability assessment and enables a more accurate fault stability assessment for the Lei 61 UGS facility. According to the comparison of the assessment results, the conventional assessment method predicts that all faults in the UGS facility remain highly stable under the current stress field, at a minimum activation pressure of 20.04 MPa; in contrast, the improved assessment method indicates a minimum activation pressure of 16.68 MPa, with a decrease of 3.36 MPa, despite the absence of any fault activation.

Key words: clay mineral, heterogeneity in the frictional coefficient of a fault, maximum allowable pressure of a fault, fault stability assessment method, Lei 61 underground gas storage (UGS) facility, Liaohe Basin

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