Natural Gas Storage
We own two underground salt dome natural gas storage facilities located near Hattiesburg, Mississippi that are ideally situated to serve the domestic Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast natural gas markets. On a combined basis, these facilities (our Petal Gas Storage ("Petal") and Hattiesburg Gas Storage ("Hattiesburg") locations) are capable of delivering in excess of 1.4 Bcf/d of natural gas into five interstate pipeline systems. We also lease underground salt dome natural gas storage caverns that serve markets in Texas and Louisiana.
The ability of salt dome storage caverns to handle high levels of injections and withdrawals of natural gas benefits customers who desire the ability to meet load swings and to cover major supply interruption events, such as hurricanes and temporary losses of production. High injection and withdrawal rates also allow customers to take advantage of periods of volatile natural gas prices and respond in situations where they have natural gas imbalance issues on pipelines connected to the storage facilities. Our salt dome storage facilities permit sustained periods of high natural gas deliveries, including the ability to quickly switch from full injection to full withdrawal.
| Facility | Ownership Interest | Approx. Acres | Gross Capacity (Bcf) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petal | 100% | 76 | 14.1 |
| Hattiesburg | 100% | 73 | 4.0 |
| Wilson (1) | Operating Lease | 62 | 6.4 |
| Acadian (2) | Operating Lease | 62 | 3.0 |
| Total | 27.5 |
(1) This facility is held under an operating lease that expires in January 2028.
(2) We hold this facility under an operating lease that expires in December 2012.