Conceptual Engineering / Design Issues
It is necessary to understand the engineering issues involved in the construction of the reserve, as these will have an impact on the cost which needs to be kept as low as possible.
Comparative Construction Costs
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) of the United States currently holds approximately 727 million barrels of crude oil in massive underground salt caverns. The 62 cylindrical tanks have been carved out of huge salt mounds that are located approximately 2000 ft below the surface and have an average height of 2000 feet and width of 200 feet. Warm fresh water was used to leach out the salt which was then discharged into the Gulf of Mexico. Using a simple water hose and nozzle as a construction tool greatly reduced construction costs and this resulted in the lowest possible construction cost of US $ 7 / Bbl.
Unfortunately, we in India, have not as yet found large salt deposits (except maybe in Rajasthan where a huge salt formation is believed to exist. This however needs to be investigated further) in which we can store crude oil or petroleum products. We however do have natural gullies / small valleys and undulating landscapes which could be used as natural storages which require minimum soil and rock excavation. When done on a large scale the costs could be very low.
The engineering solution chosen usually depends on the storage method selected (land based /sea based). For the purpose of this project however, only land based storage is being considered as the life cycle costs and maintenance expenditure required is considerably lower.
For land based projects again, the optimum design will depend on the geology, permeability and settlement of in –situ soils, ground water levels and size and type of tank. The design will also depend on the type of product to be stored.
The engineering schematics below pictorially convey what is involved. Schematic A appears best suited to Indian conditions and might be the lowest cost option available especially if done on the large scale that is envisioned. If built on degraded land, after construction, we can cover the site with soil and build 30,000 – 45,000 acres of rich forest cover on it. The concrete storage tanks also provide large scope for innovation as instead of steel we could use carbon fibre, which has far greater tensile strength than steel as reinforcing material in the concrete. It also has zero corrosion problems. The site could also use recycled plastic as fill material on a truly massive scale. This could therefore be the largest environmentally friendly project globally.
Earthquake risk is minimal since the tanks have a special long lasting polymer fabric lining both the inside and the outside which provides effective containment.
Engineering Solutions for Strategic Storage
Project Cost Estimates
Approximate project cost calculations below exclude the cost of land.
Project Protection
The project is proposed to be located near Mangalore on the west coast of India. Advanced naval ordinance, including naval aviation units working out of the large Indian naval base at Karwar, 270 Km to the north will be responsible for the protection of the strategic reserves marine assets. Missile units of the Indian Army will secure the underground facility which will be located in the hinterland.
Environmental Issues
Since the storage itself is going to consist almost completely of underground storage tanks, it will have no adverse impact on the environment as the containment is secure against even earthquakes. The marine part of the project (SPMs and underwater pipelines) are standard equipment and have a proven safety record.
The project overall will be designed to be net – net positive to the environment as some 30,000 – 45,000 acres of new forests will be grown at different locations based on where large tracts of degraded forest / land is available.
Forward Path
There are no major show stoppers that could come in the way of making the reserve as conceptualized above a reality. Getting the initiative off the ground quickly is important and for this it is essential for the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to work with the Finance Ministry and the Prime Minister’s office to get a high level team of energy industry experts to visit countries in the Persian Gulf to get their oil ministers on board. The role of the Ministry of Finance in this project is critical and it is hoped that since the financial outflow and budgetary impact of the project (especially SPV1) is extremely low, they will find the project worth supporting as the scheme has solved the fundamental problem of financing the reserve.
“Determine that a thing can and shall be done, and then, we will, find a way”
— Abraham Lincoln
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