Williams Partners Seeks FERC Approval to Expand Natural Gas Service in Southeastern U.S. to Help Mee

Williams Partners Seeks FERC Approval to Expand Natural Gas Service in Southeastern U.S. to Help Meet Power-Generation Demand Growth

TULSA, Okla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Williams Partners L.P. (NYS: WPZ) announced today that its Transco natural gas pipeline has filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to expand a compressor station and provide additional firm natural gas transportation capacity to growing markets in the Southeast United States by the spring of 2015.

The Mobile Bay South III Expansion Project is designed to provide 225,000 dekatherms per day of firm transportation service on the Transco Mobile Bay Lateral from the Station 85 4A Pooling Point and other receipt points located at Transco's Station 85 in Choctaw County, Ala., to interconnections with Florida Gas Transmission and Bay Gas Storage in Mobile County, Ala. The project would deliver enough natural gas to provide service to approximately 1 million homes.

"Growing power-generation demand has dramatically increased utilization of Transco's Mobile Bay Lateral in recent years," said Frank Ferazzi, general manager of the Transco system. "Our proposed Mobile Bay South III expansion is an efficient way to move additional supply from a well-positioned compressor station in Choctaw County, Ala. to a number of regional storage facilities to growing Southeastern markets."

The proposed expansion would involve adding compression power at Transco Compressor Station 85 in Choctaw County, Ala., along with upgrades at existing facilities in Washington and Mobile counties in Alabama. With FERC approval, construction could begin in the spring of 2014. The capital cost of the project is estimated to be approximately $50 million.

The Transco pipeline is a 10,200-mile pipeline system that provides natural gas transportation and storage services for markets throughout the Northeastern and Southeastern United States. Major markets include New York City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Atlanta. Transco's major customers are primarily power generators, local distribution companies and producers. In the last decade, the company has placed into service 20 Transco growth projects totaling in excess of $1.8 billion of capital investment. The current system capacity is approximately 9.9 million dekatherms per day, which is enough natural gas to serve the equivalent of 42 million homes.

About Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ)

Williams Partners L.P. is a leading diversified master limited partnership focused on natural gas transportation; gathering, treating, and processing; storage; natural gas liquid (NGL) fractionation; and oil transportation. The partnership owns interests in three major interstate natural gas pipelines that, combined, deliver 14 percent of the natural gas consumed in the United States. The partnership's gathering and processing assets include large-scale operations in the U.S. Rocky Mountains and both onshore and offshore along the Gulf of Mexico. Williams (NYS: WMB) owns approximately 68 percent of Williams Partners, including the general-partner interest. More information is available at www.williamslp.com, where the partnership routinely posts important information.

Portions of this document may constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined by federal law. Although the partnership believes any such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that actual outcomes will not be materially different. Any such statements are made in reliance on the "safe harbor" protections provided under the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Additional information about issues that could lead to material changes in performance is contained in the partnership's annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Williams Partners L.P.
Media Contact:
Tom Droege, 918-573-4034
or
Investor Contacts:
John Porter, 918-573-0797
or
Sharna Reingold, 918-573-2078

KEYWORDS: United States North America Alabama Oklahoma

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:

The article Williams Partners Seeks FERC Approval to Expand Natural Gas Service in Southeastern U.S. to Help Meet Power-Generation Demand Growth originally appeared on Fool.com.

Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.