Sempra Energy Trading, the wholesale energy trading unit of Sempra Energy, has filed with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) for a permit to develop a natural gas storage facility, named Bluewater GasStorage LLC, in St. Clair, Mich. The company is targeting a commercial operation date of April 2004, pending approval from the MPSC.

The facility will be constructed atop Columbus III field, a depleted oil and gas reservoir, which is one of the last remaining in Michigan not to have been converted into a gas storage facility. It is located near six natural gas pipelines and has a storage capacity of 27 billion cubic feet. According to Sempra, 75 percent of Michigan’s peak winter demand is met by stored gas.

— by J.J. Siegel

Publication date: 05/19/2003