SAN DIEGO, March 25, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Sempra Pipelines & Storage, a unit of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE), today announced that it has petitioned for authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to construct and operate its Liberty Gas Storage LLC natural gas storage facility in Calcasieu Parish, La.
In its filing, the company seeks FERC authorization to operate the facility under Section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act, including market-based rate treatment. Information about the project and tariffs involving the Liberty Gas Storage are available on the project's Web site at www.libertygasstorage.com.
"Liberty Gas Storage is ideally situated to bring high-deliverability gas storage to the Gulf Coast region, an area that has experienced tightness in supplies and increased priced volatility," said George Liparidis, president of Sempra Pipelines & Storage. "The project will provide gas markets with an added degree of reliability and supply-demand balancing."
Liberty Gas Storage will be located near the town of Sulphur, La., and will provide firm storage and related services to customers transporting natural gas on various interstate pipelines in the region.
The facility, which will provide 17 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of working gas capacity for storage, is expected to be in service in the second quarter of 2006. The project also will include surface facilities to allow for a maximum injection of 500 million cubic feet per day and maximum withdrawals of 1 Bcf per day.
Additionally, Liberty Gas Storage will be located near the Cameron and Port Arthur Pipelines, two new pipelines under development by Sempra Pipelines & Storage connecting area LNG regasification terminals to the interstate gas transmission system. FERC has granted the company a 7(c) operating permit for Cameron Pipeline. An application for the Port Arthur Pipeline's operating permit was filed with the FERC Feb. 28, 2005. An open season for the Port Arthur Pipeline currently is underway with responses due April 4, 2005.
Sempra Pipelines & Storage acquired the rights to develop the gas storage facility from HNG Storage in June 2004.
Sempra Global, the umbrella organization for Sempra Energy's businesses operating in competitive energy markets, has two other gas storage projects, Bluewater Gas Storage and Pine Prairie Energy Center. Bluewater Gas Storage, in St. Clair, Mich., has a storage capacity of 27 Bcf and began operations in May 2004. Pine Prairie Energy Center, under development in Evangeline Parish, La., will have a capacity of up to 24 Bcf when operational in 2006.
Sempra Pipelines & Storage, a subsidiary of Sempra Global, acquires, builds and operates natural gas pipelines and storage facilities in Mexico and the United States. The company operates 165 miles of high-pressure natural gas pipelines, has permitted another 100 miles and is developing another 250-plus miles of pipelines to connect major natural gas supply sources in the United States and Mexico. Sempra Pipelines & Storage also is actively pursuing various storage opportunities in the United States.
Sempra Energy is a San Diego-based Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2004 revenues of $9.4 billion. The Sempra Energy companies' more than 13,000 employees serve more than 10 million customers in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, South America and Asia.