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2000 News Releases
Date: March 16, 2000
Gulfstream
Natural Gas System Selects Florida Pipe Supplier
DETROIT — The Coastal
Corporation today announced that its Gulfstream Natural Gas
System, L.L.C., has signed a letter of intent with Berg Steel
Pipe Corporation, of Panama City, Fla., providing for Berg to
manufacture and deliver most of the steel pipe needed to build
the Gulfstream Natural Gas System. This bid award represents the
majority of the 36-inch diameter pipe requirement for the
offshore section of Gulfstream and a significant portion of the
36-inch diameter pipe that will be used to construct the onshore
segment in Florida. Berg was selected on the basis of a
competitive bidding process. All pipe used for the project will
exceed U.S. Department of Transportation safety standards.
Under the letter of intent
agreement, Berg will begin production of the pipe in the fall of
2000 in anticipation of initial deliveries prior to construction
start-up in June of 2001. This timetable will keep Gulfstream on
track for meeting its targeted in-service date of June 2002.
"We’re very pleased with
Gulfstream’s continued progress on all fronts. This purchase
arrangement with Berg underscores our confidence and commitment
regarding the future of the project," said David A. Arledge,
chairman, president and chief executive officer of The Coastal
Corporation. "We’re especially pleased that Berg, a
longtime pipe supplier of ours, was the winning bidder. To have
a Florida company with skilled Florida workers helping us bring
clean-burning natural gas to the Florida marketplace is a bonus
for all involved." The proposed 744-mile Gulfstream Natural
Gas System will originate near Mobile, Ala., and cross the Gulf
of Mexico to Manatee County, Fla. In Florida, 292 miles of main
line and laterals, ranging in diameter from 36 inches to 16
inches, are planned to deliver environmentally preferred natural
gas to fuel new electric-generation capacity throughout the
state.
The main line terminates in Palm
Beach County, near Florida’s East Coast. Gulfstream will
transport to Florida up to 1.13 billion cubic feet per day of
natural gas from sources in Alabama and Mississippi. This will
help ensure that there is an adequate supply of clean, dry
natural gas to meet Florida’s growing energy needs. Ten
non-affiliated utility and power-production customers have made
long-term, binding commitments for the majority of the capacity
on the system.
In October 1999, Gulfstream filed
an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
to build and operate the $1.6 billion natural gas delivery
system. In January 2000, FERC conducted a series of
environmental scoping meetings, and FERC currently is preparing
an environmental impact statement for the project.
Gulfstream representatives met
with more than 150 agencies and environmental groups and spent
more than $7 million on environmental surveys and related work
to ensure that its filing with FERC was complete and that the
system would be built in a safe and environmentally responsible
manner.
More information about the
Gulfstream Natural Gas System is available by calling
1-888-GAS-4-FLA (1-888-427-4352).
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