Because it can be stored indefinitely, natural gas is the most readily available of the fossil fuels. The exploration, production, and transportation of natural gas takes time. Often, when natural gas reaches its destination, it is not always needed immediately, so it is stored underground in large storage reservoirs strategically located all over the United States. These storage facilities can be near market centers that do not have a ready supply of locally produced natural gas. In addition to storage underground, natural gas can also be stored in liquid form known as liquefied natural gas or LNG. The advantage of LNG over gaseous natural gas is that it takes up much less space to store and ship.
Stored natural gas can act as insurance if any unforeseen accidents, natural disasters, or unexpected consumer demand surges happen. Traditionally, natural gas has been a seasonal fuel with highest demand during the winter for heat. However, because of advantages natural gas has over other energy sources, its demand has increased to be used for more than just the winter months. Also, stored natural gas ensures that any excess supply delivered during the summer months is available to meet the increased demand of the winter months.
Shortly after World War II, the natural gas industry noted that seasonal demand increases could not be met by pipeline delivery alone. Reaching the increasing demand in the growing consumer regions using the pipelines in existence then was not possible. The size and quantity of pipelines would have to increase dramatically. Making available underground natural gas storage facilities was the answer. These facilities now play an important part in maintaining the supply needed to meet the energy fuel demands of consumers today. To ensure that adequate supplies of natural gas are available for seasonal and any unexpected demand shifts, underground storage is used to serve as a buffer between transportation and distribution.
There are three types of underground storage: depleted reservoirs, aquifers, and salt caverns. Companies like
