Storage

We own and/or operate three types of storage systems -- depleted reservoir, salt caverns and liquefied natural gas.

Currently these three storage methods combine to provide more than 250 billion cubic feet of certificated working gas storage capacity.

Depleted Reservoir

Depleted reservoirs in our eastern North America market area are used as storage facilities by injecting natural gas back into the porous underground rock that once held the fuel before it was produced.

We own the storage field near the town of Accident, Maryland, and partially own the Pennsylvania fields near Oakford (50 percent) and Leidy (25 percent). The proximity of these storage fields to our shippers provides a great deal of flexibility. The depleted reservoirs in use at Accident, Oakford and Leidy allow for “one turn” per year (an injection and withdrawal cycle that takes 12 months).

Our Union Gas storage facility at Dawn, Ontario, is North America’s largest. It too is a depleted reservoir but the porosity of its geologic formation allows for more than one turn per year. In total, the company’s depleted reservoir working gas storage capacity is about 225 Bcf.

Salt Caverns

Salt is impermeable and self-sealing, so it creates exceptionally strong and environmentally sound storage. Our salt caverns can extend more than 1,000 feet underground. In fact, their vertical height can be greater than a major skyscraper is tall.

We own two salt storage facilities, one in Moss Bluff, Texas, and the other in Egan, Louisiana, with others in development. Moss Bluff and Egan are equipped with two-way directional interconnects to major pipelines serving midwestern and eastern U.S. markets.

We also use a bedded salt formation in southwest Virginia for natural gas storage. The bedded salt beneath the Saltville facility allows for caverns not as deep as those at Egan or Moss Bluff, but wider.

In total, we have more than 30 Bcf of salt cavern working gas storage capacity.

Storing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

LNG is made by refrigerating natural gas to condense it into a liquid. The liquid form is much more dense than natural gas, so it has much more energy for the amount of space it occupies, making it an efficient storage solution for natural gas. We operate a LNG storage facility near Kingsport, Tennessee, and another near Hagar, Ontario. Both of these facilities have the capacity to store about 1 Bcf each for shippers seeking peak day services.

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