|
2001 News Releases
Date: July 23, 2001
Gulfstream
Begins Laying Pipe in Tampa Bay
HOUSTON - The first sections of
offshore Florida pipe were laid in Tampa Bay today as offshore
construction activities continue on the 753-mile Gulfstream
Natural Gas System. The work is part of the shallow water
construction effort that includes burying approximately 27 miles
of concrete-coated steel pipe between Port Manatee and an area
20 miles west of Sunshine Skyway Bridge.The shallow water work
is scheduled to be completed by the end of August.
The pipe lay effort will utilize the DLB-801, a 350-foot barge
with a 230-person crew capable of laying approximately 1 mile of
pipe per day.
Another pipe barge is currently laying pipe in deep water off
the coast of Alabama, working its way toward Florida. To date,
it has laid approximately 25 of the 419 miles of offshore pipe.
Once complete, the $1.6 billion Gulfstream system will be the
largest pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico, with capacity to
transport approximately 1.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas
per day. It is also the first new natural gas transportation
system to serve Florida in more than 40 years.
Gulfstream Natural Gas System, L.L.C. is a joint interstate
natural gas pipeline development of Williams (NYSE:WMB) and Duke
Energy (NYSE:DUK) approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission Feb. 22, 2001. Construction of the 753-mile pipeline
project began June 1, 2001. The pipeline will extend from
Mississippi and Alabama across the Gulf of Mexico to Florida. It
is designed primarily to serve Florida utilities and
power-generation facilities that will use high-efficiency
natural gas turbines to meet the increasing demand for electric
energy.
|
