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1999 News Releases
Date: Oct. 14, 1999
Coastal
Files Gulfstream Application With Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
HOUSTON —
The Coastal Corporation today announced plans to file an
application on Oct. 15 with the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) to build and operate a new natural gas
pipeline with an initial capacity of 1.1 billion cubic feet per
day to serve Florida’s growing energy needs. Ten
non-affiliated utility and power- production customers have made
long-term, binding commitments for capacity on the system, with
additional commitments expected soon.
Commenting on today’s
announcement, David A. Arledge, chairman, president and chief
executive officer of The Coastal Corporation, noted that
"the Gulfstream Natural Gas System will provide
economically priced capacity to deliver the additional supplies
of clean-burning natural gas that Florida needs, with a route
design that is in keeping with our commitment to environmental
stewardship."
Florida will require more than
9,600 megawatts of additional electrical- generating capacity by
the year 2007 to meet the needs of its growing population,
according to the Florida Public Service Commission’s
"Review of Electric Utility 1998 Ten-Year Site Plans."
When completed, the Gulfstream system will have the capacity to
deliver sufficient natural gas to produce electricity for more
than 50 percent of the state’s additional megawatt
requirements.
According to Arledge,
"Coastal has a clearly defined growth strategy with
specific projects and plans that are being coordinated with the
Gulfstream project. Our power production division will have
opportunities to develop projects in Florida, and the
exploration and production division has the opportunity to
expand existing gas supplies in the Gulf of Mexico for delivery
to the project."
The proposed 744-mile Gulfstream
Natural Gas System will originate near Mobile, Ala., and cross
the Gulf of Mexico with more than 400 miles of 36-inch diameter
pipeline 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, along
Florida’s East Coast.
"Through interconnections
with others, Gulfstream shippers will have reliable access to
more than 2 billion cubic feet per day of gas supplies sourced
from supply basins in the U.S. and Canada," Arledge said.
Arledge said that Gulfstream took
extraordinary steps in the months preceding today’s
announcement to ensure that the project met or exceeded all
federal, state and local laws and regulations pertaining to
safety, health and the state’s environmental resources. Those
he enumerated included:
Gulfstream developed and
implemented a strategy that resulted in a pipeline route which
seeks the least environmental impact and meets the needs of the
customers and markets Gulfstream will serve.
Gulfstream sought advice and guidance from federal, state and
local permitting agencies involved in the project. That
collaboration led to Gulfstream’s adoption of the "team
permitting" process in Florida, in which all interested
stakeholders participate in developing the conditions to be
included in the state’s Environmental Resource Permit.
This cooperative sharing of data
enabled Gulfstream to avoid known sensitive habitats and develop
field survey protocols used in identifying and avoiding
sensitive areas such as "live bottom" habitats in
Tampa Bay. In fact, Gulfstream 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 the FERC was comprehensive and complete.
Gulfstream held 20 open houses
with landowners, community leaders and other interested parties
across Florida and in Alabama. That dialogue helped Gulfstream
take into account landowner suggestions and gradually narrow the
pipeline study corridor from an initial 3-mile-wide study area
to the current 300-foot-wide corridor.
Arledge said Gulfstream will
generate a $716 million economic stimulus to the Florida
economy. Construction on the $1.6 billion project is scheduled
to begin in June 2001. Gulfstream has a targeted in-service date
of June 2002.
Coastal has more than 25 years of
experience in offshore pipeline construction and operation.
Coastal companies own, operate or have interests in 18,000 miles
of natural gas pipelines and handle about 13 percent of all
natural gas consumed in the United States.
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