Enterprise Products Partners LP subsidiary Petal Gas Storage LLC has applied to FERC to further expand its gas storage facility in Petal, MS. The project would include construction of two underground salt caverns, creating 10 Bcf of working capacity, which could be completed and in service as early as the second quarter of 2010.

Petal also is holding a binding open season for approximately 1 Bcf of storage capacity to be available around June 1. The binding open season begins at 8 a.m. CST on Monday (Feb. 25) and concludes at 5 p.m. CST on March 10.

Petal offers shippers the ability to reach growth markets in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions through bidirectional interconnects to Tennessee Gas Pipeline, Gulf South Pipeline, Hattiesburg Gas Storage and, through the Petal Pipeline, Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line, Southern Natural Gas and Destin Pipeline, Enterprise said.

The company said Petal anticipates future interconnects with the Southeast Supply Header, Mid-Continent Express and Gulf Crossing pipelines. These new interconnects would give customers access to gas supplies originating in the growing Barnett Shale, Woodford Shale and Bossier production areas, thus providing additional storage injection opportunities at Petal.

Barnett Shale production continues to grow. The play’s leading producer, Devon Energy Corp., said recently it was producing more than 800 MMcf/d from the play and was on track to be producing 1 Bcf/d by early 2009. Production by the No. 2 Barnett player, Chesapeake Energy Corp., now exceeds 600 MMcfe/d, and net production is about 400 MMcfe/d (see NGI, Jan. 14). Robust production growth in the region is said by Bentek Energy to be a factor in a coming takeaway capacity crimp in the Gulf Coast region (see NGI, Jan. 21).

For more information on the open season, contact Paul Tate at (713) 381-8077, or ptate@eprod.com.

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