Overview
Sawgrass Storage, L.L.C. (“Sawgrass”), has been granted a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to develop and operate a new strategically located underground natural gas storage facility northwest of Monroe, Louisiana in Lincoln and Union Parishes. Sawgrass has completed preliminary engineering to develop an existing depleted natural gas reservoir formation into a facility capable of initially providing up to 30 Bcf of working gas capacity and offering flexible services at market-based rates. Sawgrass is a joint venture between subsidiaries of Samson and AGL Resources Inc. Samson is a privately-held energy exploration and production company with more than 1,000 employees (see www.samson.com). AGL Resources is a Fortune 1000 corporation (NYSE: GAS) with extensive natural gas storage and distribution operations (see http://www.aglresources.com).News
March 15, 2012
Sawgrass Granted FERC Certification
Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorized Sawgrass Storage, LLC (Sawgrass) to construct and operate its new interstate natural gas storage facility in northeast Louisiana.
As summarized by FERC, “The proposed facility will have approximately 30 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of working gas capacity and maximum injection and withdrawal capabilities of 300 MMcf/d. The project will interconnect, through a new 13.9-mile, bi-directional pipeline, to the Midcontinent Express Pipeline, about nine miles southeast of Farmerville, Louisiana. Sawgrass proposes to provide open-access firm and interruptible storage services and interruptible hub services (i.e., enhanced and interruptible parking and loan, interruptible balancing service, and interruptible imbalance trading service). The order grants Sawgrass’s request to charge market-based rates for these services because Sawgrass will not be able to exert market power in the Gulf Coast Production Region.”
FERC concluded that the proposed project should provide substantial public benefits without significant adverse impacts. The FERC order noted that Sawgrass has secured nearly ninety percent of the subsurface property rights necessary to build the project and demonstrated market interest for the project through its open season which resulted in fourteen bids.