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Natural gas demand in Florida is forecasted to increase by 2.39 Bcf (Billion
cubic feet)/day by the year 2010, and by 4.54 Bcf/day by the year 2020,
largely driven by gas-fired electric generation. These demands will not
be met by the existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure in Florida,
particularly southeastern Florida.
Southeastern Florida is currently served by one interstate natural gas pipeline, the Florida Gas Transmission System (FGT), and in southeastern Florida that pipeline is at maximum capacity. The Ocean Express pipeline will be able to provide Florida with much-needed capacity and supply by connecting to the FGT system in Broward County without requiring major system expansions or upgrades on the FGT system.
The Ocean Express pipeline will also diversify the supply
of natural gas to Florida by transporting natural gas from AES' Bahamian
affiliate LNG facility , AES Ocean LNG - www.aesoceanlng.com,
on Ocean Cay. By not relying on a domestic source of gas, AES will introduce
new sources of supply to Florida and potentially to the national pipeline
grid. Such diversification of supply will increase the reliability of
the energy market and provide competitive price pressure on the
existing alternatives.