Florida moves closer to LNG link

BRADENTON, Fla., March 19 (UPI) -- The Manatee County Port Authority in Florida signed off on a $30 million deal with Port Dolphin Energy for the state's second major natural gas network.

Tankers carrying liquefied natural gas would arrive at an offshore facility operated by Port Dolphin. A new underwater pipeline system would connect to onshore facilities at Port Manatee.

Port Dolphin vessels would be regasifying LNG offshore to deliver natural gas to Florida consumers.

German Castro, the vice president at Delaware's Port Dolphin, hailed the project as a boon for Florida customers.

"This occasion marks another important milestone in Port Dolphin's quest to provide solutions for Florida's growing energy demands," he said.

Port Dolphin has worked on the plans for deep-water LNG ports off the Florida coast since 2007. The project still needs the approval of the U.S. Maritime Administration to build the LNG facility 28 miles off the coast of Manatee County, Fla.

The first natural gas pipeline for Florida from the Gulf of Mexico made landfall at Port Manatee in 2002. The Port Dolphin project is scheduled for completion by 2013.