Williams now owns and operates more than 400 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas storage across the United States, after finalizing the purchase of Gulf Coast assets, which will serve growing demand for LNG exports and power generation.

The newly added portfolio includes six underground natural gas storage facilities in Louisiana and Mississippi with total capacity of 115 billion cubic feet. The assets acquired from an affiliate of Hartree Partners LP include 230 miles of gas transmission pipeline, 30 pipeline interconnects — including to LNG markets — and connections to our Transco system.

“This premier natural gas storage platform on the Gulf Coast fits squarely within our strategy to own and operate the best assets connected to the best markets to serve growing demand driven by LNG exports and power generation,” said Williams President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Armstrong. “These assets better position Williams’ natural gas storage operations to serve Gulf Coast LNG demand and growing electrification loads from data centers along the Transco corridor. Importantly, this storage will also allow us to provide value to customers in markets with growing renewables adoption as daily peaks for natural gas increases the need for storage.

Since 2010, U.S. demand for natural gas has grown by 60% while gas storage capacity has increased only 12%, said Armstrong.

“With the acquisition now complete, we look forward to welcoming the Hartree team to Williams and integrating this premier storage platform into our suite of natural gas transportation and marketing services, while delivering additional value to our shareholders.”

The six natural gas storage facilities include four salt domes and two depleted reservoirs.

The facilities have injection capacity of 5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) and withdrawal capacity of 7.9 Bcf/d, among the highest of any natural gas storage platform in the United States.

Two of the facilities, Pine Prairie and Southern Pines, are directly connected with Transco and are well positioned for expansions.

Natural gas storage is key to meeting high demand periods during winter and summer, along with increasing global need for LNG and as a back-up to renewable energy.

In 2022, Williams acquired NorTex Midstream natural gas pipeline and storage assets in North Texas, and in early 2023 acquired MountainWest transmission and storage assets serving western markets.

Additionally, Northwest Pipeline connects to six natural gas storage facilities located along its system, providing 135 billion cubic feet of additional natural gas during peak demand.  

Williams also operates the Pine Needle liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility in North Carolina.