Natural Gas Storage
Natural gas storage helps natural gas marketers and production companies even out the supply of natural gas based on fluctuations in seasonal demand. Obviously, during times of low natural gas demand additional natural gas is stored and saved for use when natural gas demand spikes. In addition, natural gas storage systems can do many supplemental things: balance flow of pipelines; speculation by nat gas marketers; consistency for fixed contracts; filling in during the case of weather emergencies or accidents; and reducing price volatility.
Natural gas storage is usually done in underground reservoirs. There are three types of reservoirs that can used for storage: aquifer reservoirs, salt cavern reservoirs, and depleted gas reservoirs. Most believe that LNG storage can offer a more suitable solution for storing natural gas than underground reservoirs. Primarily, when natural gas is converted to a liquid form it takes up significantly less space. Also, liquid natural gas terminals are usually located in high frequency delivery areas.