With retail energy competition around the corner and powergeneration growing by leaps and bounds, Colorado is in need of newgas storage capacity, according to Brandt Energy President MichaelG. Wright.

Wright, one of the designers of the Wild Goose Storage projectin California, is teaming up with Star Natural Gas, Renegade Oil& Gas, and Fairchild, Ancell & Wells, to develop Colorado’sfirst independent gas storage facility. Called Totem Gas Storage,the project will be located about 12 miles east of the DenverAirport in a depleted gas field in the J Sand reservoir of theDenver Julesburg Basin and will target growing power generationload and marketers serving customers along the Front Range.

There’s currently a dearth of storage in the state, and what isthere is either under contract or being used by the local utility,said Wright. Totem will be one of only six storage fields in thestate, which currently totals about 40 Bcf of working gas capacityand only 1 Bcf/d of deliverability.

The Totem project will have one of the highest deliverabilityrates of any of the existing facilities. “We have pretty goodpermeability and porosity, and we’re able to come up with adeliverability of over 200 MMcf/d,” said Wright. “It will have toreach about half of the 9 Bcf of working gas capacity beforedeliverability starts falling off.

“One of the things we’ll be able to do is to inject and withdrawgas on any day at any point in the year, which is different thanthe other reservoirs, which have active water drives,” he said.”There’s a requirement that they have to get their gas out everyyear otherwise they may lose it behind the water.” Wright saidTotem will have sufficient injection capability to provide aminimum of two cycles per year.

There will be a greater need for the flexibility Totem willprovide as gas and electric competition heats up in the state,Wright noted. “Any marketer, gas supplier or trader that plans onsupplying small commercial or residential loads is going to have tohave swing and balancing capabilities.

Totem also hopes to serve a number of power projects beingdeveloped in response to a shortfall in power supply last summerand resulting brownouts.

Storage developers expect the project to be in service in thesecond quarter of 2001 with connections to Colorado Interstate Gasand PSCo. Wright said Totem has filed an application with theColorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission for approval toconvert the field into a storage facility and will apply with theColorado Public Utilities Commission for market-based rates. Totemcurrently is holding an informal open season. For details callWright at (214) 954-1886, or email him at mgwrit1@aol.com.

Rocco Canonica

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