ABSTRACT: Current Underground Natural Gas Storage Projects and Proposals in New York

SANFORD, KATHLEEN F., NYSDEC Division of Mineral Resources, Albany, NY

Natural gas is presently stored underground in New York in both depleted gas production fields and solutioned salt caverns. Proposals to expand existing storage facilities and to develop new ones in New York have resulted from the forecast increased demand for natural gas in the Northeast, particularly from gas-fired electric generating plants.

The Division of Mineral Resources in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is charged by law with administering the state's underground gas storage permitting program. The Division, in conjunction with the New York State Geological Survey, reviews geologic and reservoir engineering data submitted to support a proposed reservoir's suitability for storage. Current and anticipated proposals include conversion or construction of salt caverns, delta-pressuring of existing and new reservoir storage fields, and use of horizontal wells to increase deliverability in conventional storage fields.

Potential future trends in natural gas storage in New York include use of advanced modeling techniques for salt cavern design, increased use of horizontal and multi-lateral drilling techniques, growing interest in near-market locations in eastern counties, and implementation of lined rock cavern technology currently under evaluation in Scandinavia.

Search and Discovery Article #90907©2000 AAPG Eastern Section Meeting, London, Ontario, Canada