Salt Dome - Commercial Uses

Commercial Uses

The rock salt that is found in salt domes is mostly impermeable. As the salt moves up towards the surface, it can penetrate and/or bend strata of existing rock with it. As these strata are penetrated, they are generally bent slightly upwards at the point of contact with the dome, and can form pockets where petroleum and natural gas can collect between impermeable strata of rock and the salt. The strata immediately above the dome that are not penetrated are pushed upward, creating a dome-like reservoir above the salt where petroleum can also gather. These oil pools can eventually be extracted, and indeed form a major source of the petroleum produced along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

The caprock above the salt domes is sometimes the site of deposits of native sulfur, which is recovered by the Frasch process.

Other uses include storing oil, natural gas, hydrogen gas, or even hazardous waste in large caverns formed after salt mining, as well as excavating the domes themselves for uses in everything from table salt to the granular material used to prevent roadways from icing over.