Caliche Development Partners III announced the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the first phase of the Spindletop project expansion, located in Beaumont, Texas. The move marks a new advancement for Golden Triangle Storage (GTS), a subsidiary of the company, and comes just weeks after receiving regulatory authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
The investment will allow for the development of two new underground storage caverns for natural gas within the historic Spindletop salt dome, along with new surface facilities and strategic interconnections with Kinder Morgan’s Trident and ARM Energy’s Mustang pipelines.
A project backed by growing energy demand
The investment decision reflects the growing need for natural gas storage capacity in the United States. The increase in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, the demands for electric system reliability, and the growth in energy consumption associated with data centers and artificial intelligence are driving new investments in energy infrastructure.
According to the company, the recent commercial contracting season saw demand nearly six times the capacity offered, a signal confirming market interest in greater storage volumes on the Gulf Coast.
Likewise, the regulatory support obtained from FERC strengthens the project’s viability and allows for progress towards the next construction phases.
The largest gas storage hub on the Gulf Coast
The first phase is part of a broader plan that includes four new caverns approved by FERC. Once all stages are completed and the necessary future investment decisions are obtained, Golden Triangle Storage will exceed 60 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of total capacity.
The complex will operate with eight storage caverns and will be able to achieve injection rates of up to 2.2 Bcf per day and withdrawal capacities of up to 2.5 Bcf daily.
These figures would position Spindletop as one of the most important assets for balancing natural gas supply and demand in the region, especially due to its proximity to LNG export terminals and major industrial corridors.
Previous experience in underground storage
Caliche is a company specializing in the development and acquisition of underground storage projects for natural gas, hydrogen, helium, and carbon capture. The company operates from Houston and maintains projects in Texas and California.
Its management team has previous experience in developing storage facilities within the Spindletop salt dome itself, an area historically linked to the U.S. energy industry.
The company is part of the portfolio of Sixth Street, a global investment firm that manages over $130 billion in assets and committed capital.
Next steps for expansion
Work associated with this first phase will advance over the next few years with the goal of initiating expanded operations between late 2028 and early 2029.
According to Caliche, the expectation is to complete the commercialization of the new caverns’ capacity and subsequently move towards future expansion phases to respond to the sustained growth of energy demand in North America.
Source and photo: Caliche Development Partners III via PR Newswire
