Mississippi Hub, LLC (MS Hub), an affiliate of Enstor Gas, LLC, the largest privately owned natural gas storage company in the United States, has filed an application (docket number CP24-80) with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to amend its current certificate to allow for the expansion of the MS Hub gas storage facility. MS Hub is a high-deliverability underground natural gas storage facility located on the Bond Salt Dome in Simpson County, Mississippi.
MS Hub serves strategic markets through its interconnects with Southern Natural Gas Company (Sonat), Southeast Supply Header (SESH), and Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line (Transco).
The expansion plan calls for doubling the number of storage caverns at MS Hub to a total of six and constructing compression, dehydration, saltwater disposal wells, and related facilities to accommodate the proposed expansion. Upon completion, the MS Hub expansion project is expected to add up to 33.5 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of working gas capacity, add up to 0.7 million dekatherms per day (MMDth/day) of injection capacity, and up to 1.0 MMDth/day of delivery capacity. Enstor anticipates the new MS Hub facilities will be in-service in 2028.
When fully completed, the MS Hub expansion project will increase the total working gas storage capacity to 56.3 Bcf, approximately 2.5 times the facility’s present capacity. MS Hub has requested that FERC issue a decision on the requested expansion by April 1, 2025.
CEO Perspective
“It’s been a decade since the industry has seen significant additions to natural gas storage,” said Enstor CEO Paul Bieniawski. “In that time, the market has changed dramatically and materially on multiple fronts, including pipeline shipments of U.S. natural gas to Mexico, continuing growth of U.S. gas-fired power generation nationwide, and the launch and rapid growth of U.S. LNG exports, which have made the United States the number-one exporter of LNG in the world. It is very clear that now is the time to increase gas storage capacity, and we are thrilled that our application to expand the Mississippi Hub Storage facility is currently in front of FERC.”
Mississippi Hub Expansion Highlights
Enstor expects the expansion project to positively impact Mississippi and the region. Project planning and development priorities are focused on maximizing safety and protecting the environment, increasing community involvement and support initiatives, providing regional energy security, and expanding economic development in the southern Mississippi region.
Highlighted benefits of the MS Hub Expansion include:
- Achieving natural gas storage capacity expansion responsibly, with safety and environmental preservation as top priorities during the project’s design, implementation/construction and operation phases.
- Supporting economic development and job creation in Mississippi through direct and indirect employment opportunities during construction and operation.
- Generating increased tax and other fee revenues to local, state, and federal governments.
- Minimizing environmental impacts by optimizing the use of existing infrastructure, resulting in minimal land disturbance.
- Enhancing energy security, reliability, flexibility, and diversity to customers in Mississippi and surrounding areas.
- Providing new access to multiple natural gas supply sources and markets to improve price competitiveness for customers.
- Providing critical fuel for backup power generation for renewable energy.