Caverns

EL Paso Natural Gas Co. (EPNG) is holding a binding open season for a proposed new 2 Bcf storage facility, comprised of four salt caverns, to be located in Pinal County, AZ. The in-service date of the first cavern is scheduled for 2013.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Wednesday gave the green light to Prairie Energy Center to put the first of three caverns into service in Evangeline Parish, LA, about 50 miles from Henry Hub. The storage project, which was authorized by FERC in May 2005, will provide 24 Bcf of working gas capacity when completely finished, with each cavern storing 8 Bcf. The facility will be capable of withdrawing gas at a rate of up to 2.4 Bcf/d and of injecting gas at a rate of up to 1.2 Bcf/d. The entire project is targeted for completion by the fourth quarter of 2010. Pine Prairie is an indirect subsidiary of PAA/Vulcan Gas Storage LLC, in which Plains All American Pipeline LP owns a 50% interest.

With the ink barely dry on the FERC order approving part of thephase-two expansion of its storage caverns in Mississippi, PetalGas Storage L.L.C. last week kicked off an open season to determinewhether there’s a demand for another expansion.

Less than a week after FERC approved part of its phase-twoexpansion of its storage caverns in Mississippi, Petal Gas StorageLLC has kicked off an open season to determine whether there’s ademand for another expansion.