U.S. DOE National Laboratories – Workshop on Well Integrity for Natural Gas Storage in Depleted Reservoirs and Aquifers (Workshop Flyer), Denver, Colorado, July 12-13, 2016

View the workshop Agenda and Attendee List

Natural gas storage facilities are a critical component of our energy supply and distribution chain, allowing elasticity in gas supply to accommodate daily to seasonal demand fluctuations. As has been made evident by the recent Aliso Canyon Gas Storage facility incident, a loss of well integrity may result in significant consequences, including the prolonged shutdown of an entire facility. To reduce the risks of future events and improve storage integrity, selected U.S. DOE National Laboratories and industry partners are hosting a gas storage workshop.

The objective of this workshop is to assemble operators, regulators, and technical experts to examine the current state of natural gas storage wellbore integrity, and to consider ways to reduce the possibility of future subsurface containment failures. This workshop will be a forum by which participants can discuss wellbore integrity risks, operational and wellbore construction practices, monitoring and testing of subsurface storage integrity, accident management (e.g., controlling leakage and blowouts), gaps in knowledge about wellbore integrity, and ways to improve the state of knowledge to address those gaps. Participants can share lessons learned from construction/design and operation/maintenance of gas storage and production fields  and discuss whether regulations sufficiently address known risks and how regulations are supported by industry best practices.

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While you’re in the area, also consider attending the PHMSA Public Workshop on Underground Natural Gas Storage Safety

July 14, 2016, Renaissance Boulder Flatiron Hotel

This workshop will bring stakeholders, including federal and state agencies, industry, and interested members of the public together to participate in shaping a future of 49 CFR 192 safety regulations for underground natural gas storage. The 1-day workshop is free of charge and will be webcast live. Meeting information and registration details will be announced on the webpage: http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/