Gas tomography-based study of geodynamics in location area of underground gas storage: A case-study of the Volgograd UGS

Various intensity geodynamic activity and tectonic stresses affect reliable underground gas storage and local ecology. One of the approaches to estimation of geodynamics in location areas of underground gas storages is combination of geodynamic zoning and microgeodynamic mapping using gas survey data. The article illustrates this approach as a casestudy of the Volgograd UGS. Geodynamic zoning revealed the regional geodynamically active zones in the location area of the test object. Using gas survey results (29 lines), depth profiles of geodynamic activity are plotted with the geodynamic zones of compression and tension. The stresses are estimated using the analysis of dynamic interaction of crustal blocks with the subsequent computer-aided modeling. The information presentation as a series of depth profiles of geodynamics is the core of the hybrid method of gas tomography, which allows a detailed analysis of geodynamic activity of rock mass. The study of positional relationship between zones of geodynamic activity and locations of underground gas storages in rock salt formations proves the importance of such research for understanding geodynamics of rock masses and its impact on operating conditions of underground gas storages.

Oborin A. V., Batugin A. S., Divakov V. I., Khotchenkov E. V., Stepanova A. D. Gas tomography-based study of geodynamics in location area of underground gas storage: A case-study of the Volgograd UGS . MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2025;(7):73-89. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2025_7_0_73.

A.V. Oborin, Deputy Head of Department, PJSC Gazprom, Saint-Petersburg, Russia,
A.S. Batugin, Dr. Sci. (Eng.), Professor, NUST MISIS, 119049, Moscow, Russia,
V.I. Divakov, Cand. Sci. (Geol. Mineral.), Assistant Professor, LLC Center for Comprehensive Research of Subsoil «Katari», Moscow, Russia, e-mail: vdivakov@mail.ru,
E.V. Khotchenkov, Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Head of Department, V.I. Vernadsky State Geological Museum, Russian Academy of Sciences, 125009, Moscow, Russia,
A.D. Stepanova, Master's Degree Student, NUST MISIS, 119049, Moscow, Russia, e-mail: stepasasa3@gmail.com.

E.V. Khotchenkov, e-mail: jek79@mail.ru.

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