Enstor Gas and Mississippi's parent company Emerald Storage has announced the receipt of ‘Notice to Proceed’ from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to begin construction on the expansion of the Mississippi Hub natural gas storage site.

Located on the Bond Salt Dome in Simpson County, Mississippi, the hub is linked to a highly active market via its connections with Southern Natural Gas Company (Sonat), Southeast Supply Header (SESH), and Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line (Transco).

In April, Enstor announced the receipt of approval from the FERC for the expansion of the Mississippi Hub facility.

The expansion involves the addition of three new natural gas storage caverns, each with a capacity of approximately ten billion cubic feet (bcf) of working gas.

The project will also see the construction of necessary support facilities, including compression and dehydration units, as well as saltwater disposal wells.

Furthermore, the expansion will increase the facility's total working gas capacity by 33.5bcf, bringing it to a total of 56.3bcf, and will boost the injection capacity by 0.7 million dekatherms per day (mdthpd).

This will result in a total injection capacity of 1.90mdthpd while the withdrawal capacity will remain at the previously certified rate of 2.40mdthpd.

Enstor aims to initiate construction immediately to have the expanded storage facility operational by 2028.

The expansion project promises to deliver multiple benefits, including enhanced energy security and reliability for the region, improved price competitiveness through increased capabilities, and support for economic development and job creation in Mississippi.