Key issues in water sealing performance of underground oil storage caverns: Advances and perspectives

Water sealing performance is important for underground water-sealed oil storage (UWSOS). The key issues concerning water sealing performance mainly include the permeability of fractured rock mass (FRM), water-sealed safety (WSS), water curtain performance, and prediction and control of water inflow. This paper reviews the progress of above four key issues on water sealing performances. First, the permeability of an FRM is the basis of water sealing performance, and several commonly used permeability test methods and spatial variation characteristics of permeability are outlined. Second, the current water sealing criteria are compared, and the evaluation methods of WSS are summarized. Third, the design parameters and efficiency evaluation of water curtain systems (WCSs) are introduced. The water inflow of oil storage caverns (OSCs) can reflect the water sealing effect, and the prediction methods and control measures of water inflow are also summarized. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of the current research are discussed, and the potential research directions are pointed out, such as optimization of water sealing criteria and FRM model, quantitative evaluation of WCS efficiency, accurate prediction of water inflow, and improvement of grouting technology.