Frequently Asked Questions
What is Sawgrass Storage?
Sawgrass Storage L.L.C. (“Sawgrass”) has filed for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to develop and operate a new underground natural gas storage facility northwest of Monroe, Louisiana. Sawgrass plans initially to provide 30 Bcf of working gas capacity offering flexible services at market-based rates. The storage project lies in a rural setting in Lincoln and Union parishes.Who are the owners and operators and what is their experience?
Sawgrass is a joint venture between Mill Creek Gas Storage, LLC, a subsidiary of Samson - a privately held energy exploration and production company operating more than 4000 oil and gas wells, and Cypress Creek Gas Storage, LLC, a subsidiary of AGL Resources Inc. - a Fortune 1000 corporation (NYSE: GAS) with extensive natural gas storage and distribution operations. Utilizing this extensive expertise in the development and operation of storage fields, Sawgrass Storage would convert the underground depleted natural gas reservoir into a high-deliverability storage field.Who will Sawgrass Storage's customers be?
The Sawgrass facility is being designed to provide services to meet the growing requirements of the natural gas market including utilities, power generators, producers, and marketers.What can local landowners expect?
Sawgrass is committed to employing a collaborative approach in establishing good relationships with the landowners and local community who will be the neighbors of our facilities. Landowners interested in learning more about pipelines and storage facilities can read the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) updated document:An Interstate Natural Gas Facility on My Land? What Do I Need to Know? (pdf, 2.58 MB)
What does Sawgrass Storage bring to the community?
The development of the Sawgrass facility can bring significant economic benefits to the area. The benefits include sales tax and annual property tax revenue. Construction of the facility can also boost employment as Sawgrass will work to identify area contractors, vendors and suppliers to complete the project. Once operations start, Sawgrass would require a number of full-time employees.Why is natural gas storage important?
Natural gas storage has an important role in maintaining the reliability of supply needed to meet the demands of consumers. Storage services serve as a buffer between production, transportation and distribution to consumers to ensure that adequate supplies of natural gas are available during seasonal demand shifts, unexpected demand surges or unexpected weather-related outages.What is underground natural gas storage?
Confined geologic formations are used to temporarily store and provide efficient and dependable supplies of natural gas to consumers, businesses and utilities. There are over 400 natural gas underground storage facilities in operation in the United States today with the capacity to store 3,900 Bcf. Approximately 86% of these facilities utilize depleted reservoirs. The remaining 14% utilize either salt caverns or aquifers.
What is depleted reservoir storage?
Depleted reservoir storage utilizes a depleted underground natural gas reservoir that originally contained oil and/or natural gas. Natural gas is injected back into the depleted reservoir in order to re-fill the reservoir. The withdrawal process for the natural gas in storage is very similar to the process originally used to produce natural gas from the reservoir in the first place. The conversion of a depleted reservoir for storage use traditionally involves drilling many new wells that would enable a more rapid withdrawal of natural gas than was originally used to deplete the reservoir.Why is natural gas storage needed?
The approximately 400 interstate underground natural gas storage facilities located throughout the United States are a key component to maintaining the reliability, integrity and capability of the nation’s natural gas transmission and distribution network. Natural gas storage is critical to meeting seasonal high demand requirements. Additionally, the ability to deliver the additional volumes of natural gas into the pipeline system helps to smooth price volatility. Growth in natural gas demand will require significant investment in both natural gas pipelines and storage.How safe is natural gas storage?
Natural gas storage is a regulated business that is required to maintain strict safety and environmental controls. Storage in a depleted reservoir, like the proposed Sawgrass storage facility, mimics nature’s way of safely storing natural gas for millions of years. The Sawgrass facility will be designed to meet or exceed all regulatory and modern industrial safety standards, employing the latest technologies and engineering.
Where does the natural gas come from and where will it go?
The Sawgrass location provides a great opportunity to interconnect with pipelines that bring gas from diverse and prolific supply sources, including the shale gas being developed in Haynesville, Barnett, Woodford, Bossier Sands and Eagle Ford. Its multiple connections also provide access to Midwest, Southeast and Northeast markets.What sort of infrastructure would be built to operate the storage facility?
The Sawgrass storage project involves the conversion of a depleted natural gas reservoir into a storage facility. The reservoir is proposed to be developed by directionally drilling up to 16 injection/withdrawal wells from up to five well pads and constructing an 18,900 HP natural gas compression station. Sawgrass would also construct approximately 13.9 miles of 30-inch pipeline providing the storage reservoir access to 5 interstate pipelines. View a map of the area with more details.