Engineering Services
As a leading engineering company, Geostock is involved in all underground storage project stages (new projects or storage facilities in operation), techniques (mined caverns, salt caverns and porous media such as aquifers and depleted fields) and skills. Geostock encompasses the underground skills (geophysics, geology, hydrogeology, geotechnics, underground civil engineering, drilling, reservoir engineering, solution mining), as well as surface facility skills (process, rotating machines, compression, piping, pipe networks, surface civil engineering, electricity, automation, instrumentation, anti-corrosion, materials). More generally, the company possesses all the cross-cutting skills relating to underground storage (integrity test of boreholes before leaching, and tightness test of caverns before commissioning, administrative engineering, safety and environment).
Pre-feasibility studies, generally conducted on the basis of available data, whether public or acquired from other players, result in a preliminary design (orders of magnitude for storage depth and flow rates) and a description of the ensuing phases.
Feasibility studies are usually based on initial geological investigation (a limited number of drilling operations, accompanied by in situ and laboratory tests) serving to determine expectations and specify acquisition methods. Investigation works are usually contracted directly by the client, with Geostock helping out by selecting contractors and supervising them in the field. Geostock is responsible for interpreting the results. A feasibility report is produced to refine the design (bottom and surface) but remains preliminary. A project cost is assessed (AACEI Class 4 or 5), together with an initial construction schedule. The following steps are described, beginning with possible additional site investigation.