FERC has approved a request to place into service a fourth storage cavern at the Southern Pines Energy Center in eastern Mississippi. The project originally was proposed by Houston-based SG Resources Mississippi LLC, but it was acquired by PAA Natural Gas Storage LP (PNG) for $750 million in early 2011 (see Daily GPI, Dec. 30, 2010).

Southern Pines is a high-deliverability salt cavern facility in Greene County, MS, about 60 miles north of Pascagoula and 30 miles east of Hattiesburg. The facility was placed in service in 2008. It is permitted for 40 Bcf of working capacity from four caverns.

The facility has an aggregate of 48,000 hp of compression and is permitted for peak injection and withdrawal rates of 1.2 Bcf/d and 2.4 Bcf/d, respectively. It is directly or indirectly connected to eight pipelines servicing the Gulf Coast, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and southeastern markets.

PNG is 64% owned by Plain All American Pipeline LP. It also owns underground storage facilities in southern Louisiana, Pine Prairie Energy Center; and storage facilities in St. Clair County, MI, Bluewater Gas Storage.

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