Union Gas Ltd. is offering between 1-2 Bcf of peak storage capacity at its Dawn market hub for injection this summer and withdrawals during the coming winter season.

The storage capacity will be awarded to the highest bidders. All bids are due by 1:00 pm EST on Thursday, (May 3). Capacity awards will be made a half an hour later, and injections may begin on Friday, (May 4). Winter 2001-2002 withdrawals will be on an interruptible basis.

Union’s Dawn complex in southwestern Ontario, north of Detroit, is the largest natural gas storage facility in Canada with 142 Bcf capacity. With seven pipeline interconnects — three of which are TransCanada’s — Union Gas has easy access to 15 pipeline and distribution companies. Dawn storage has a working capacity of over 142 Bcf and can deliver more than 2 Bcf/d for customers.

Dawn is one of the fastest growing hubs in North America. In addition to physically handling over 1.2 Tcf of gas, Union Gas also processed an average of over 7.6 Bcf of title transfers a day in 2000 — double the amount of market activity in the previous year, the company said. The hub is experiencing similar growth this year. During the first three months of 2001, Dawn has handled an average of over 14 Bcf of title transfers a day. The ratio of market activity to gas in storage is also growing fast. On average, every molecule of gas injected and withdrawn from Dawn storage is traded over 11 times.

The open season introductory offer can be found in the both the Business Opportunities and Storage sections of Pipeline Grapevine Online at https://www.uniongas.com/Business/S&T/PipelineGrapevine/PipelineIndex.asp. For customers requiring more information can contact Mike Morrison, Senior Account Manager (519) 436-5352 or mmorrison@uniongas.com.

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