In summer months when the demand for natural gas is low, natural gas companies can store their excess supply in a number of ways. The most common method is to pipe the natural gas into depleted oil or natural gas reservoirs where it can be stored indefinitely and withdrawn as needed.
Underground storage is used to meet peak winter demand when the capacity of the pipelines cannot deliver what is needed. There are more than 380 underground storage systems operated by 80 companies in 26 states. More than half of the total underground storage systems are located in Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia.
Another storage method is converting natural gas to liquid. By reducing its temperature to -259 degrees Fahrenheit, natural gas can be condensed into liquefied natural gas (LNG) which takes up only 1/600th of the space it does as a gas. When LNG is ready to be used, it can be easily converted back to a gaseous form simply by increasing the temperature.
