October 19, 2015 – Houston Public Media
On Edge Of Houston, Underground Caverns Store Huge Quantities Of Natural Gas Liquids
By: Dave Fehling
A first-time visitor to a small city east of Houston might be struck by the evidence of a vibrant local economy everywhere you look: new homes, new streets, a new park.
And not a mile away is a reason for the growth: a big expansion is underway at a complex of industrial plants. The plants process raw natural gas into natural gas liquids or NGLs as they’re called.
Where are we? The city of Mont Belvieu.
“Well, Mont Belvieu is and has always been kind of the center of the universe for NGLs, “says Callie Mitchell, a former gas company executive, now a consultant with RBN Energy.
“It’s a pretty little town. But the storage is all underground. And so the storage itself you wouldn’t know it’s there,” Callie says.
Stored beneath Mont Belvieu are millions of gallons of those NGLs. Why here? Mont Belvieu sits atop an underground mountain of pure salt. Since the 1950’s, oil companies have been carving out huge caverns in the salt thousands of feet beneath the surface. Now, there are about 125 of the storage caverns.
The industry needs them because natural gas production has soared in Texas and other states, meaning the production of natural gas liquids is surging as well. Mitchell says Mont Belvieu dwarfs any other such site in the U-S. And in case you’re wondering, she says safety is a top priority.
Listen to the full interview here: http://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/news/on-edge-of-houston-underground-caverns-store-huge-quantities-of-natural-gas-liquids/
