Falcon Gas Storage said it intends to proceed with a Phase II expansion of its Hill-Lake Gas Storage Facility in Eastland County, TX. Subsidiary Hill-Lake Gas Storage LP has received regulatory approvals for the project, which serves markets in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area as well as other parts of north, east and west Texas, including the Waha pipeline hub

“The market for natural gas storage services definitely is changing, as we are now seeing a willingness to enter into longer-term contracts that has been absent for several years,” said Jeff Foutch, Falcon’s executive vice president, regarding a recent open season for storage capacity in Hill-Lake. “The past two winters have underscored the value of [high-deliverability, multi-cycle] storage, especially for winter peak-day demand as well as for meeting the summer and intra-day peak demand requirements of gas-fired power plants.”

Hill-Lake’s Phase II expansion will add 3 Bcf of additional working gas capacity, as well as 150 MMcf/d of incremental injection and withdrawal capacity. It will bring Hill-Lake’s total peak-day withdrawal and injection capacity to 300 MMcf/d. Completion of the initial part of the expansion, which will enhance the injection and withdrawal capabilities, is expected in the next 30 days.

Hill-Lake is connected to a number of pipelines, including the GulfTerra/Energy Transfer North Texas Pipeline, Lone Star Pipeline’s Line X and Line WA, and the Enbridge Pipeline system.

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