Tricor Ten Section Hub LLC said a nonbinding open season for its planned storage project in southern Kern County 10 miles southwest of Bakersfield, CA, which closed Sept. 30, resulted in “significant over subscription for firm service,” as well as additional bids for interruptible and hub services.

“The results of the open season [see Daily GPI, June 2] dramatically highlight the need for additional storage capacity in the western U.S.,” said Chris Kunzi, vice president of Tricor. “…[W]e have already commenced working with the open season participants and others who have expressed interest in the project to put together service agreements that will satisfy their needs.

“Ten Section Hub offers the flexibility necessary to serve a diverse customer base, including natural gas-fired electric generators, local distribution companies, industrial end-users and natural gas producers and marketers.”

The Ten Section Hub Project is awaiting approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (see Daily GPI, June 17). It will be located near the backbone systems of major western U.S. pipelines and will have more than 4 Bcf/d of interstate and intrastate pipeline capacity surrounding it. The facility is designed to hold 22.4 Bcf of working gas and will offer customers up to four-turns of high-speed deliverability. Ten Section Hub will offer up to 1 Bcf/d of withdrawal service and up to 0.8 Bcf/d of injection service.

Tricor has said it could consider offering storage service to intrastate pipeline customers by connecting its facility to the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) transmission systems. The facility’s location has had strategic importance in the southern end of California’s agriculture and fossil fuel-rich central San Joaquin Valley. PG&E and SoCalGas once owned and operated Ten Section for five years (1977-1982) when they were pursuing a joint venture liquefied natural gas (LNG) project that ultimately was abandoned in the mid-1980s. The field was originally discovered in 1936 by Shell Oil, which operated it for 41 years. Tricor has owned the field since 1997.

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