The new cavern increases total working gas capacity by 5.4 billion cubic feet (Bcf), bringing total working gas capacity to 11.4Bcf at the McIntosh facility.
The company noted that an additional 0.4Bcf capacity was achieved during the development process. Bay Gas Storage had an original planned capacity of 5Bcf for its third cavern. The cavern’s original storage capacity was fully contracted in August 2006.
Coinciding with the inauguration of the newest cavern, Bay Gas Storage will begin salt cavern leaching of its fourth underground storage cavern at the McIntosh facility.
The development of the company’s fourth cavern is the first phase of a planned 10Bcf expansion that will include a fifth cavern at the south Alabama facility. Cavern Four has an expected in service date of the first quarter of 2010 and will add 5Bcf of total working gas capacity.
A direct interconnect with Transco pipeline is also under construction to support caverns four and five and will open up the Bay Gas Storage facility to serve Mid-Atlantic and Northeast markets. Construction of the new pipeline is expected to be completed in advance of the fourth cavern’s in-service date.
