September 25, 2014 [OPIS] - ATCO Energy Solutions Ltd. said it plans to develop new underground, salt-dome storage for natural gas liquids in western Canada, in partnership with Petrogas Energy Corp.
ATCO said it will develop four salt caverns, with the capacity to store approximately 400,000 cubic meters (2.5 million bbl) of propane, butane and ethylene. The facility will be located at ATCO’s Heartland Energy Centre near Fort Saskatchewan.
The storage facility will be connected to Petrogas’ existing Fort Saskatchewan hydrocarbon truck and rail terminal that currently receives and distributes multiple products in the marketplace.
Petrogas said its terminal is undergoing expansion to accommodate this storage initiative and provide additional throughput and distribution capacity. This project will support the movement of increasing volumes of western Canadian LPG production to traditional North American markets as well as key international export markets through Petrogas’ West Coast LPG export terminal at Ferndale, Wash., Petrogas added.
Cavern drilling and long lead procurement is currently underway for the facility that will be built and operated by ATCO Energy Solutions. Commercial operation for two caverns is targeted for the second quarter of 2016 and is strategically timed to offer additional product storage and handling services to meet market demands. Two additional caverns are anticipated to be completed by the second quarter of 2017.
