With natural gas as its standard bearer and its sights set on the energy-starved East Coast, KeySpan Corp. announced it is now 8% ahead of its 2001 goal to add $60 million to its gross profit margin through gas conversions on Long Island and the Boston area, and is on target to reach about 90% of the home heating market in the Long Island region within the next few years. The company is now involved in four pipeline projects, and has set a goal to deliver almost 1 Bcf/d to the eastern suburbs of New York City.

Three pipes, in a venture with Duke Energy, will include one that will link Long Island to Canada’s Maritimes provinces reserves. The link would come via the Island East pipeline, scheduled to be ready in 2003, which will deliver 250 MMcf/d under Long Island Sound.

The KeySpan-Duke joint venture also includes the Cross Bay pipeline, an expansion of Transco’s link to Long Island, which will cross the New York Harbor from Old Bridge, NJ, delivering gas from the Gulf of Mexico and the Southwest. When the Cross Bay pipe is completed, Duke and Transco’s parent, Williams Cos., will each own 37.5%, with KeySpan owning 25%. The first phase of the Cross Bay expansion is on target to deliver about 125 MMcf/d to Long Island beginning in December 2002.

KeySpan also holds a 20.4% stake in the Iroquois pipeline, which brings Western Canadian gas to the New York City region. Two proposed links will bring additional gas to Long Island when completed.

When all of the pipes are completed, KeySpan estimates its capacity to deliver natural gas on Long Island will double, and to be ready, the company is now building gas mains at the rate of 200 miles a year. Since the beginning of this year, KeySpan has converted nearly 200,000 homes in the region to gas heat. Wally Parker, president of KeySpan Energy Delivery Group, said that 65% of Long Island has no gas mains, and another 15-18 million feet of mains will eventually have to be installed to bring them to within 100 feet of every Long Island home.

©Copyright 2001 Intelligence Press Inc. Allrights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republishedor redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without priorwritten consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.