Aquila Corp. affiliate Red Lake Gas Storage LP has filed an application at FERC for a certificate to build new storage facilities and an associated pipeline in Mohave County, AZ, to meet the growing natural gas demand in that region. It also is seeking the green light to offer storage and hub services at market-prevailing prices.

It proposes to construct two high-deliverability storage caverns, 31 miles of header pipeline and a 33,000 horsepower compressor station. The storage facilities would have a total working gas capacity of 12,000 MMcf, with an injection capability of 450,000 Dth/d and deliverability of 900,000 Dth/d, the company told the Commission.

The proposed storage caverns and header line would interconnect with El Paso Natural Gas, Transwestern Pipeline and Questar Corp.’s Southern Trails Pipeline, it said. Red Lake is seeking a preliminary determination on non-environmental issues by Dec. 18 of this year and a final certificate “as soon as possible thereafter,” so it can begin storage and hub services by Nov. 1, 2003.

An open season held by Red Lake’s affiliate, Aquila Storage, resulted in non-binding precedent agreements for more than 69% of the proposed facility’s storage capacity, Red Lake said.

©Copyright 2002 Intelligence Press Inc. Allrights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republishedor redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without priorwritten consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.