Why can salt domes serve as underground storage sites for natural gas?

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salt dome Figure 1: Interrelationships of salt structures (see text)

Salt domes are highly effective for the underground storage of natural gas primarily due to the physical properties of the salt itself.

When engineers drill into a salt dome, they create a cavity—often referred to as a storage "bottle"—through a process of controlled solution mining. These cavities are ideal for storage because salt is characterized by its impermeability, which prevents the stored gas from leaking or escaping into surrounding rock formations.1

Because of this structural integrity and ability to contain pressurized substances, salt domes are frequently utilized to create artificial reservoirs, allowing for the storage of large quantities of gas to meet demand during peak consumption seasons.2