One of the greatest advantages of natural gas is that it can be stored indefinitely. This becomes important in light of the fact that natural gas takes a lot of time for exploration, tapping and transporting it.

Once extracted by companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corp., natural gas is stored in large underground storage facilities at strategic locations all over the United States. Often, these facilities are located near large markets of natural gas where there is no ready supply. Also, one of the major advantages of natural gas is that it can be stored in a liquefied form which takes up one six hundredth of the space of its gaseous form, and is safer to store and ship.

Why Natural Gas Storage is Necessary

Natural gas reserves are strategic resources to be used in case of any unforeseen emergency that cuts off traditional sources of energy supply. A crisis that stops the supply of natural gas can cause a surge in energy prices.

Natural gas is most often used during the winter months in the U.S., but due to its many inherent advantages, there is now a demand for natural gas year around. After the Second World War, experts realized that the excess demand for natural gas during the winter could not be met by pipeline supplies. As a result, underground facilities were built to provide a steady and secure energy source during the winter months and serve as a supply buffer between the supply source and the end users. Since the peak usage is in winter, storage during the summer months ensures that supplies are available during the excess demand during the winter months.

Three Types of Natural Gas Reservoirs: 

To ensure energy security natural gas storage companies maintain three kinds of natural gas reservoirs: existing reservoirs which are now depleted, salt caverns, and aquifers. Salt caverns are generally small and can’t hold a large volume of gas. However, salt caverns serve the purpose of storing natural gas for emergencies and peak load situations. They are usually located around the gulf coast and northern states in the US like Utah.

Depleted natural gas reservoirs are usually refilled with natural gas by injecting gas into the formation vessel underground, turning the reservoir into a pressurized container. The pressure is proportional to the ease of extraction. Once the pressure drops to atmospheric levels, no more gas can be extracted and the remaining gas is therefore physically unrecoverable. Despite this wastage, these reservoirs are easier to maintain.

The least desirable storage method is an aquifer, a type of underground rock formation. These rock formations are porous resulting in a certain amount of gas being lost. However as our energy requirements grow, we need to consider all options as our resources are limited.