Following an open season held in 2008, Central Valley has continued to develop the project, including finalizing certain binding market commitments for the project. Central Valley also recently filed an application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in August 2009 requesting authorization to construct and operate an 8 Bcf underground natural gas storage facility. Pending all necessary approvals, Central Valley is anticipating issuance of the certificate in mid 2010 and expects to provide firm storage services by April 2012.
The Central Valley natural gas storage project is a high deliverability depleted reservoir that is expected to provide negotiated multi-turn services based on prospective customers requirements. The facility is strategically situated in northern California and will have an interconnect into Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) gas transmission system. The interconnect point will be considered a PG&E city gate point similar to other independent storage facilities connected to the PG&E system.
“After our initial open season revealed such strong interest in our project, we decided to proceed through the regulatory process and file for certification approval with the C.P.U.C.,” said Steve Cittadine, president of Central Valley. “As a result of our ongoing development efforts, which included drilling a test well in May of this year, we have a more complete understanding of the field’s initial capabilities through core samples and are able to offer additional services to the California market. We believe Central Valley’s geographic location and service profile offers an excellent complement to new infrastructure being developed to serve west coast markets and will facilitate more effective use of natural gas as renewable energy mandates take shape in California.”
