Liberty

Gulfstream Natural Gas System received the first shipment of pipe for construction of its 753-mile natural gas pipeline system. The pipe was delivered to Liberty Port in Mobile, AL, and transported to a concrete weight coating facility in Theodore, AL. “This is the largest pipeline project in the Gulf of Mexico. When you see this first shipment of pipe arrive — all 23,000 tons of it — and realize we still have 12 more shipments coming, it underscores just how enormous this project really is,” said Nancy Schultz, Gulfstream senior vice president and general manager, technical functions. “It is exciting to have reached this milestone, which marks the imminent start of physical construction.” The pipe, purchased from Berg Steel Pipe Corporation in Panama City, Fla., arrived by ship from Bremen, Germany, where it was manufactured by Berg’s parent company, Europipe. Each section of 36-inch diameter pipe, with a wall thickness of up to 1.375 inches, is 40 feet in length and weighs up to eight tons. One hundred seventy two miles of 36-inch pipe will be stored in Alabama until the scheduled start of construction in June. Additional steel pipe manufactured at Berg’s pipe mill in Panama City, Fla., is scheduled to be delivered to Port Manatee, Fla., on May 28. The pipeline is sponsored by Williams and Duke Energy and was approved by FERC in February. It will extend from Mississippi and Alabama across the Gulf of Mexico to Florida.