Sempra Pipelines & Storage, a unit of San Diego-based Sempra Energy, has placed Cavern 4 in service at its Bay Gas Storage facility in Alabama.

Cavern 4 will add five billion cubic feet (bcf) of working gas capacity and construction of Cavern 5 is also underway at the facility.

With a planned in-service date in 2012, Cavern 5 is expected to add another 5bcf of working gas capacity, bringing total capacity at the facility to 21.4bcf.

Sempra Pipelines & Storage president and CEO George Liparidis said that Bay Gas has been a very productive storage asset providing services to the Florida market and other markets in the Southeast.

"We are pleased to expand our capacity for serving those markets with the initiation of service at Cavern 4, as our midstream asset development program continues to advance," Liparidis said.