The French company is expected to apply next year to build it off the coast near Fort Lauderdale.
By Associated Press
Published December 18, 2005
FORT LAUDERDALE - A French company has proposed building a natural gas terminal in the Atlantic Ocean about 10 miles from Fort Lauderdale's shore.
Paris-based Suez would construct pipelines so tankers could unload natural gas at a terminal from which the gas would be piped to power plants, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Saturday.
The company expects to file an application with the Coast Guard in the next few months. The Coast Guard then would develop an environmental impact statement to examine possible dangers, including risks to marine life. The public would have a chance to comment on the project, which would begin operation in 2010.
Because natural gas emits less pollution than oil or coal, demand for the fuel has soared. But in South Florida, previous proposals for natural gas pipelines have sparked protests over concerns about coral reefs and public safety.
As part of the Calypso Deepwater Port Project, Suez would bring natural gas from Algeria, Egypt, Trinidad or elsewhere, transporting it in cooled, liquid form to the offshore port. The port would accommodate two tankers at a time, with each tanker requiring about a week to unload gas.
The terminal and new pipelines would ease Florida's dependence on two lines that bring gas into the state from the Gulf of Mexico, said Dan McGinnis, vice president for business development of Suez Energy N.A., in Houston.
"What it does is give you greater supply security," McGinnis said. "If there's a hurricane coming in the gulf, this will still supply you with gas."
In terms of safety, mishaps are rare, though a 1973 explosion in New York killed 40 people. McGinnis said the port location in the open ocean would protect the public.
Still, environmental groups have indicated they may fight the plan.
"Judging by the number of oil rigs destroyed or adrift due to Katrina, the industry does not appear to be able to make their structures stand up to the increasing number of hurricanes," said Pedro Monteiro, the Sierra Club Broward Group conservation chairman. "I have concerns about how Suez will bring the gas to shore, and how they will ensure that the pipeline will not break free and sweep the sea floor."
In April 2004, Gov. Jeb Bush and the state Cabinet approved two pipeline projects to carry natural gas from the Bahamas to South Florida. Tractebel Calypso Pipeline LLC, a subsidiary of the French utilities group Suez, was one of the two given five years to construct pipelines.
The proposed pipeline from the Bahamas would transport natural gas to the Port Everglades area, to connect to the Florida Gas Transmission pipeline, according to the company's Web site.
