Kina - A joint research program between Norway and China on rock mechanics problems related to oil/gas storage in unlined rock caverns

China has become the second large oil consumer in the word. It is estimated 40% of oil consumption will be from import by the year of 2015. However, China has now virtually no strategic storage facilities. The government has decided to build a number of h uge underground oil storage projects in coming years along the east coast for strategic oil reserve. But, there is no underground crude oil storage facility in China so far, and China will import modern technology in this field. Norway, on the other hands , has a large number of underground oil/gas storage caverns and we have been involved in such projects all over the world. There is a great potential for the scientists and engineers from Norway and China to cooperate in both design and research in this f ield. Although a large number of oil/gas storage caverns have been constructed in Norway, there have not been much research activities. The experience we learnt from the projects, both positive and negative, need to be summarized, studied and enhanced, so that they can be better used for similar projects in future. Detailed study is needed for some special problems. One topic is the alternative solution for the first filling. The common practice in Norway is to increase the excavation volume by 20% of t he storage volume. But, this solution seems difficult to be accepted by Chinese clients. Another topic may be related to numerical simulation of migration of and interaction between water, oil and gas. The outcome of the research project will include gui delines for designing oil/gas storage caverns under varying conditions. It is believed that the joint research program is beneficial to both countries. Norwegian scientists will further enhance our already advanced technology and improve design of future projects. This joint project will also provide a superb opportunity for promoting and exporting Norwegian technology to China?s market, which has been developing extremely fast in the last decades.