Gas Storage Operations

Natural gas storage is used to provide additional supplies of natural gas to serve residential, commercial, industrial, and power generators based on demand. In 2005, according to industry data, there were more than 100 natural gas storage operators in the United States and over 400 active storage facilities.

Natural gas storage facilities are linked to interstate and intrastate pipeline transmission and local gas pipeline distribution systems and are generally located near market areas, so that the natural gas can be dispatched quickly to reach consumers when they need it to meet demand.

Pipeline companies, such as SNG, own the majority of the working gas capacity in the U.S., and El Paso is the largest operator of natural gas storage in the country. The oldest of the company’s facilities date to the 1940s.