June 2016, Vol. 243, No. 6

General

Williams Partners Gets FERC Nod on Garden State Expansion; Updates Interstate Pipeline Projects Underway

Williams Partners L.P. has received Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval for an application for Transco’s Garden State Expansion Project, a fully contracted expansion project to deliver 180,000 Dth/d of natural gas capacity for local distribution to thousands of customers in New Jersey.

The Garden State Expansion Project consists of additional compression to provide firm natural gas transportation service and increased reliability to New Jersey Natural Gas, which serves more than half a million customers in New Jersey’s Monmouth, Ocean and parts of Morris, Middlesex, Sussex and Burlington counties.

The project will provide firm transportation from Transco’s Zone 6 Station 210 Pooling Point in Mercer County, NJ to a new interconnection on its Trenton Woodbury Lateral in Burlington County, NJ. Williams Partners will coordinate with New Jersey Natural Gas on construction dates and other activities.

Rory Miller, senior vice president of Williams Partners’ Atlantic-Gulf operating area said, “In addition to Garden State, we are pursuing a host of other projects throughout the eastern U.S. designed to serve the tremendous, long-term growth in demand for clean-burning natural gas from local distribution companies, industrial and power generation customers. We expect our Transco system to deliver more than 17 Bcf per day by the end of 2017, which is double its 2010 capacity.”

The Garden State project is part of Williams Partners’ 2016 growth capital funding plan that includes $1.3 billion for Transco expansions and other interstate pipeline growth projects. Fully contracted Transco projects that are part of that plan and currently under construction or in regulatory review include:

Rock Springs – Construction is nearing completion on the Rock Spring lateral. The project consists of 11.17 miles of new 20-inch diameter steel pipeline (10.12 miles in Lancaster County and 1.05 in Cecil County) extending from the existing Transco pipeline in Lancaster County, PA, and terminating at the Wildcat Point facility, approximately five miles from the Town of Rising Sun in Cecil County, MD. The pipeline is being designed to transport approximately 192,000 Dth/d of natural gas. Plans call for placing the project into service during the third quarter of 2016.

Gulf Trace – Construction is underway in Louisiana on this 1.2 MMDth/expansion to serve the Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. Sabine Pass Liquefaction project being developed in Cameron Parish, LA.  The project includes the installation of eight miles of new 36-inch concrete-coated pipe from the existing Transco pipeline in St. Helena Parish to the Sabine Pass Liquefaction Facility meter station. The project would also include two compressor stations, and modifications to the existing Transco mainline. Williams Partners plans to place the project into service during the first quarter of 2017.

Hillabee Expansion Project – Construction started in May 2016 on the first phase of this multi-phase project to add a total of approximately 1.13 MMDth/d of capacity to the Transco system to serve Florida. The project calls for the construction of approximately 43 miles of additional pipe segments (loops) in Alabama, in addition to modifying some existing pipeline facilities. Service for the first phase is expected by the second quarter of 2017.

New York Bay Expansion – In April 2016. FERC issued its Environmental Assessment for this project designed to deliver an additional 115,000 Dth/d  of natural gas into National Grid’s distribution system through the Rockaway Delivery Lateral and the Narrows meter station. The expansion project, which is estimated to cost as much as $130 million, will include installation of additional horsepower at three existing Transco compressor facilities, in addition to uprating Transco’s existing Lower New York Bay lateral and replacing approximately 0.25 miles of 42-inch pipe in Middlesex County, NJ. The project will also include modifications to existing Transco meter and regulator stations in Middlesex County, NJ, Chester County, PA and Richmond County, NY. The work is confined to existing company property or rights of ways. Williams Partners plans to place the project into service during the fourth quarter of 2017.

Dalton Expansion Project –In April 2016, FERC issued its Environmental Assessment to expand by 448,000 Dth/d Transco’s mainline from its Station 210 in New Jersey to points as far south as Holmesville, MS, and add a 111-mile lateral pipeline from Transco’s Station 115 to Murray County, GA. Williams Partners plans to place the project into service in 2017.

Virginia Southside II Expansion – In March 2015, Williams Partners filed an application with the FERC for this project to provide 250,000 Dth/d of firm transportation capacity to a delivery point on a new lateral off Transco’s Brunswick Lateral in Virginia. The project consists of approximately 4 miles of new 24-inch diameter pipeline extending from the Transco Brunswick Lateral in Brunswick County, VA., and terminating in Greensville County, VA. The pipe would be placed alongside of the existing utility corridor. Williams Partners plans to place the project into service during the fourth quarter of 2017.

Atlantic Sunrise – In March 2015, Williams Partners filed an application with FERC seeking authorization for its Atlantic Sunrise expansion project, which would transport about 1.7 MMDth/d the northeastern Marcellus producing area to markets in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S. The preliminary project design includes a total of approximately 183 miles of new greenfield pipe (Central Penn North & Central Penn South), two pipeline loops totaling about 12 miles (Chapman Loop, Unity Loop), two and half miles of existing pipeline replacement, two new compressor facilities in Pennsylvania, and other facility additions or modifications in five states (Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina. Williams Partners plans to place the project into service during the second half of 2017.

Transco, a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams Partners, is the nation’s largest and fastest-growing interstate natural gas transmission pipeline system. It delivers natural gas to customers through its 10,200-mile pipeline network whose mainline extends nearly 1,800 miles between South Texas and New York City. The system is a major provider of cost-effective natural gas services that reach U.S. markets in 12 Southeast and Atlantic Seaboard states, including major metropolitan areas in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Miller said he expects the Transco system to deliver more than 17 Bcf/d by the end of 2017, which is double its 2010 capacity.