Williams' pipeline expansion to feed new LNG projects

9/2/2016

(Reuters/GP news services) Williams Partners LP has filed for an approval from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to expand its Transco pipeline in Texas and Louisiana.

Williams

Photo courtesy of Williams Partners

The Gulf Connector, a 475,000-dekatherm (Dth)/d expansion of the Transco pipeline, will supply two LNG projects in Texas.

Constructed in two phases, the Gulf Connector Project is designed to deliver 75,000 Dth/d to Freeport LNG Development LP's liquefaction project by H2 2018, and 400,000 Dth/d to Cheniere Energy's Corpus Christi LNG terminal in 2019.

Pending appropriate regulatory approvals, construction on the first phase of the pipeline project will begin in 3Q 2017, and will be placed into service during the second half of 2018.

LNG projects. The Freeport LNG export terminal will have three liquefaction trains with expected export capacity of 15.3 MMtpy. It is planned to commence operations in phases between September 2018 and August 2019.

Meanwhile, Cheniere Energy's Corpus Christi liquefaction terminal is proposed to have up to five liquefaction trains (two of which are under construction), with expected nominal production capacity of up to 22.5 MMtpy of LNG.

Trains one and two at the Corpus Christi liquefaction terminal are expected to be mostly complete in 2019.

Competitive advantage. Williams Partners' Transco pipeline passes through every US state with an LNG export facility currently under construction. Natural gas demand to serve LNG export facilities along the Transco pipeline is expected to grow by approximately 11,000 MDth/d by 2025.

The Gulf Connector Project involves adding compression and making the natural gas flow bidirectional on a portion of the Transco system between Louisiana and South Texas.

"This project underscores how the abundance of natural gas in the US is changing the global energy landscape," said Rory Miller, senior vice president of Williams Partners' Atlantic-Gulf operating area.

"The US is projected to become the world's third-largest LNG supplier in five years. Projects like Gulf Connector, which leverage existing gas pipeline infrastructure, make it possible to connect abundant domestic supply with emerging international markets, giving a boost to the US economy while helping meet the world's increasing energy needs."

Williams Partners is also building the Gulf Trace Project to serve Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass Liquefaction project in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, the first large-scale LNG export facility in operation in the continental US. The Gulf Trace Project is expected to be completed in 1Q 2017.

Transco is a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams Partners.

(Reporting by Vishaka George in Bengaluru; editing by Kirti Pandey; additional editing by GP news services.)