Utilities To Study Underground Gas Storage

Wed., March 31, 1999

By Bert Caldwell bertc@spokesman.com (509) 459-5450

Avista Corp. and PG&E Gas Transmission-Northwest will drill an area in Eastern Washington that could become an underground storage facility for natural gas.

Officials from the two companies said such a project, if feasible, could add significantly to their ability to juggle gas supplies during shortages.

“The new demand records set this winter demonstrate that the need for natural gas continues to grow in the region,” PG&E President Thomas King said in a statement.

PG&E supplies Canadian gas to several utilities in the Northwest and California, including Avista. Despite an expansion started in 1993, flow through the company’s pipeline reached near-maximum levels - about 2.5 billion cubic feet per day - during a December cold snap, said spokeswoman Sandra McDonough.

And the company has no underground storage that could alleviate shortages or hold gas purchased at lower, off-season prices, she said.

Patricia Grable, manager of pipeline regulatory affairs for Avista, said the drilling venture has been discussed for the past 18 months.

Consultants, she said, are excited about the possibility the underground geology will show porosity suitable for a storage facility.

“That’s not very common in this area,” Grable said.

Gas pumped into such formations can be extracted later as needed.

Test wells will be drilled near an interconnection at Stanfield, Ore., between the PG&E pipeline and another operated by Northwest Pipeline Corp. Company officials declined to be more specific.

Grable said Avista and PG&E will evenly split the initial project costs. If they choose to develop the property, which could take a few years, other terms will be negotiated, she said, adding, “We’re just taking the first step.”

Grable said the expenses will not be passed on to Avista utility ratepayers.

Avista has owned a one-third interest in the Jackson Prairie underground storage facility in Western Washington for 30 years.

Grable said the company has used its share to store gas purchased when prices were low.

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Utilities To Study Underground Gas Storage

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