Open Access

Table 1

The main characteristics of Elk City, Oklahoma; Conway-Yoder field, Kansas; Mt Belvieu, Texas; Mineola, Texas.

Elk City, Oklahoma Conway-Yoder field, Kansas Mt Belvieu, Texas Mineola, Texas
Cavern information Commissioning After 1954 600 caverns since 1951 1963 End of 50’s
Incident date (1st noticed) February 1973 NGL detected in wells 1956–2012; Propane atmosphere eruptions June 30, 1980 9/17/1980 (pressure drop); gas burst on 10/3/1980 1995
Geology Bedded salt Formation Blaine, alternating layers of salt, anhydrite, shale’s Bedded salt tight overburden; located at a dissolution boundary Domal salt Pervious Caprock Drill losses Domal salt
Stored product LPG (mainly propane) Propane, or LPG Ethane, propane Propane
Last cemented casing shoe 10¾″ at 410 m ≈200 m 8⅝ at 482 m
Penultimate cemented c.s. 35.5 m
Leak mechanism Breach depth Less than 365 m deep Shallow?
Pressure drop On 09/17/80
Mechanism A breach somewhere between 365 m and 35.5 m, upward in the cement, horizontal in the Doxey Formation Gas leaking from several faulty wells The leak was likely to be at caprock depth A breach in the casing originating from a pressure surge in a neighboring cavern
Impact at the surface Effects at ground level 9 × 15 m, 6 m deep crater Propane found in shallow wells Explosion in a cellar, gas is found in shallow waters Gas occurrences near the wellhead
Distance from wellhead 700 m, 23 m below wellhead elevation In a 30-m radius around the wellhead
Evacuation/Casualties Several families relocated 50 families evacuated
Emergency resp. & remediation Measures taken Soil gas sampling and analysis, storage emptied, CBL run Analysis of geological data, Temperature logs, CBL, 8 monitoring wells drilled, 71 operating wells evaluated Cavern emptied, wellbores tapped in the shallow aquifer layer to vent gas Fire extinguished
Remediation Water-filled annular space, packer set at 365 m Brine wells abandoned

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