A new LNG facility will help meet higher-than-normal demand
ROBESON COUNTY—Piedmont Natural Gas has announced plans to build a new liquefied natural gas facility to help continue to provide customers with a reliable supply of natural gas during peak usage days, when extremely low temperatures create a higher-than-normal demand for natural gas.
The project will provide economic benefits to local communities and help stimulate economic growth. It is expected to create up to 400 local jobs during its two years of construction and create a dozen or so permanent jobs once it is up and running.
“This project marks an important economic development opportunity for our county, and we’re looking forward to working with Piedmont Natural Gas in an open, transparent manner throughout this process,” Robeson County Manager Ricky Harris said when the project was announced.
Piedmont did not set out with the idea of building a new LNG facility. “We had a transportation contract expiring that was intended to help meet peak needs,” Victor Gaglio, Piedmont’s senior vice president and chief operating officer for natural gas operations, told American Gas. With that contract coming to an end, though, the company saw the opportunity to take a fresh approach. “We continually look at our system and infrastructure and make decisions based on what’s going to be best for the customers. That’s when we looked at adding an LNG plant that meets that need.”
Robeson County was chosen for its strategic location, Gaglio said. Once complete, it will be Piedmont’s third storage facility in the state. “We’ll start construction in summer 2019 and launch in the summer of 2021, so we’re ready for the winter.
“It’s always exciting to build new infrastructure, especially when it hits on so many of the needs we’ve got,” he continued. “It benefits the county and will add to their tax revenue—$800,000 to a million dollars. It’s exciting for our people, too. This kind of growth is a motivator for our people and our customers as well.”