FAQs

Why does SNG want to build this facility in Smith County?
Based on our studies of sub-surface salt deposits in Smith County, this is the best location in the area to construct the facility's storage cavern. This is a project that will benefit Smith County, and it will be constructed using state-of-the-art safety systems and the best of engineering principles. At all times, El Paso and SNG seek to operate their natural gas pipeline systems and storage facilities conscientiously and safely. We pride ourselves on the safety and reliability of our facilities which are located across the United States.

How big will the facility be?
As initially planned, the facility will be composed of a single underground storage cavern. The working inventory, or the amount of gas that will be injected, stored, shipped to market, and reinjected to replenish storage, will be approximately 7.0 billion cubic feet. The facility will be able to provide 700 million cubic feet per day of natural gas when needed to meet peak demand for natural gas.  Phase 2 will incorporate a second cavern in the same salt dome and will have the same storage and delivery capacities as the first.

How will you actually construct the facility?
Water will be injected under tightly controlled conditions into the subsurface salt dome to create the cavern. The water will essentially  dissolve a cylindrical shaped cavern that will hold the natural gas, and then we will pump the brine generated in the process back deep into the earth through the use of saltwater reinjection wells.

When will the project begin and when will it end?
The initial cavern and pipeline will be constructed beginning in 2008, subject to regulatory approvals. Plans call for the facilities to be operational in Spring 2011.

How will this project help Smith County?
This project will provide for greater economic development in Smith County and the region because it will be a way that utilities can better plan for growth by having sufficient quantities of energy available when they need it. This is what is called a critical infrastructure project - it will enable local, county, and state officials to look to the future and have an additional means of providing natural gas available as they plan for future commerce, including homes and businesses that will benefit Smith County and the state and region as a whole.

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Can you be more specific about the economic benefits of building the facility in Smith County?
The project will generate significant local taxes annually upon build-out. During construction, it will provide local and regional economic benefits and create jobs for skilled workers.

Who will regulate the facility?
The FERC will have primary oversight, but state regulatory and environmental agencies will also have oversight of the facility and its day-to-day operation to ensure that it is operated under the strictest safety and environmental standards.

Will the facility be manned on a daily basis?
SNG is formulating our local manpower needs. But there will be personnel assigned to routinely inspect and maintain proper functioning of the facility, and its operation and safety will be monitored constantly. The facility will be remotely operated and electronically integrated into SNG’s pipeline gas control network, giving us the ability to constantly monitor its proper functioning and operation. We can dispatch volumes of gas instantaneously to meet demand using electronic controls, and safety systems can also be activated in a similar fashion with redundancies built in where needed.

Could you have built this elsewhere?
According to data from the Mississippi Geological Survey and our own extensive review of suitable geological formations and salt deposits, this is the optimum location in the county. The location of the facility has to be in a salt deposit that can accommodate such a project.

How much land will be required to build the facility?
We need about 20 acres of surface land to accommodate the compressor station and facilities above ground.

How will this facility help satisfy demand for natural gas in the Southeast?
This project is a shot-in-the-arm for the health of the Southeast’s energy future. Other cities and areas around the country have had natural gas storage facilities constructed in their areas to meet consumer demand, including Santa Barbara, Denver, Houston, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Detroit, to name a few. There are numerous storage facilities operating throughout Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas to help meet existing natural gas storage needs in the Southeast.  This project is being constructed to help serve the increasing demand for natural gas and other forms of energy needed to accommodate continual growth in Mississippi and the Southeast region.

The project will enhance energy security for the region by providing an in-the-ground supply of readily available natural gas, providing a physical hedge that can mitigate supply and price volatility during times of peak demand.  Also, it will support peak day and hourly load growth management and will provide simplified and responsive services particularly in times of supply disruptions that may be caused by hurricanes or other uncontrollable events.

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How safe will this facility be?
We are concerned about the safety of all citizens and how our operations may affect them. We pride ourselves on having a good safety and operating record in spite of unforeseen incidents that can occur.

It is important to note that Southern Natural Gas has had an outstanding safety record during its 77 years of pipeline operation. Our record has historically been among the best in one of the nation's safest industries. In our ongoing effort to preserve and improve this record, El Paso currently has a nationwide pipeline inspection program under way. The program has been endorsed by federal authorities as being an excellent form of stewardship by the interstate pipeline industry. All of our 56,000 miles of pipeline will be inspected by 2012, and that program is about 66 percent complete. The inspection program includes our pipelines in Mississippi, and we are working with federal and state agencies, including the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to ensure that our pipelines and facilities are operated safely.

Moving natural gas by pipeline is one of the safest forms of transportation, and there are fewer incidents of pipelines having problems than driving a car in congested traffic everyday. This project is being engineered with state-of-the-art safety systems and has been planned with the strictest environmental and safety specifications. It will be operated in the same fashion.

How will you obtain continual input from citizens about the project?
We are actively discussing the project with local, county, state, and federal officials. As the process continues, we will be working with state and federal authorities on regulatory oversight by such agencies as the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the FERC, among others, on permitting issues and required approvals.

Also, based on our local, county, and state contacts, we believe there is sufficient interest to establish a community advisory body and to provide regular operational information to the area citizens about the facility and its operation. We welcome citizen feedback on all our operations here and across the U.S.

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