Williams Gas Pipeline-Central received a certificate from theFederal Energy Regulatory Commission to provide up to 55,000 Dth/dof additional firm gas transportation service to the EmpireDistrict Electric Company State Line Plant in Jasper County, MO.Williams plans to uprate its Blackwell-Cotton Valley pipeline inWashington County, OK, from 500 psi of maximum allowable pressureto 690 psi. It also will lay 37 miles of 20-inch pipe in Labetteand Cherokee Counties, KS, to extend to its Southern Trunk loopline. And it will add measurement facilities at the Empire Plant.Empire is installing an additional gas turbine, two heat recoverygenerators and a steam turbine generator to create a 500-plus MWcombined-cycle plant. Williams currently provides up to 28,800Dth/d of gas to the plant.

Coastal Corp. said its Gulfstream Natural Gas System LLC hashired Berg Steel Pipe of Panama City, FL to manufacture and delivermost of the steel pipe needed to build the system. Gulfstream is aplanned 744-mile pipeline that would extend from Mobile Bay, AL,across the Gulf of Mexico and across the Florida Peninsula. Bergwill begin production of the pipe in the fall of 2000 inanticipation of initial deliveries prior to construction start-upin June of 2001. This timetable will keep Gulfstream on track formeeting its targeted in-service date of June 2002. Gulfstream isdesigned to transport up to 1.13 Bcf/d. Ten non-affiliated utilityand power-production customers have made long-term, bindingcommitments for the majority of the capacity on the system. InOctober Gulfstream filed an application with FERC to build andoperate the $1.6 billion system.

Kerr-McGee Corp.’s board approved development of two deepwaterGulf of Mexico fields, Boomvang and Nansen, which are expected toproduce significant quantities of gas and oil. Located in 3,700feet of water, Boomvang includes East Breaks blocks 641, 642, 643,688 and 732, and Nansen includes East Breaks blocks 601, 602 and646. Following partner approval, the fields will be developed usingtwo independent spars that would link to oil and gas export lines.The Boomvang spar will be designed for daily production of 30,000barrels of oil and 200 MMcf of gas. The initial development willinclude six to eight wells. At Nansen, initial development will beup to eight wells. The spar design is for daily production of40,000 barrels of oil and 200 MMcf of gas. “We believe a sparsystem will be the most cost-effective and reliable method ofdevelopment for the Boomvang and Nansen prospects,” said Luke R.Corbett, Kerr-McGee CEO. “In addition, we hope the project willprovide a strategic hub for third-party business in the Westerngulf area.”

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