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Williams Announces Transco Southside Reliability Now Online

On Monday, pipeline giant Williams announced it had placed into full service the Southside Reliability Enhancement Project, an important expansion and modernization of the mighty Transco pipeline network in North Carolina and Virginia. The project adds a total of 423,400 dekatherms per day (423 MMcf/d) of fully contracted pipeline capacity, providing the ability to meet the energy needs of more than 2 million homes in the Southeastern U.S. Read More “Williams Announces Transco Southside Reliability Now Online”

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Williams Sues ET Again, This Time for Blocking La. Pipe Project

Two pipeline industry titans are going after each other again. Energy Transfer and Williams previously tangled over an aborted proposed merger, a saga that stretched from 2015 until it was finally settled in 2023 (see Williams Finally Wins Case Against ET Aborted Merger – $495 Million). More recently, Williams sought permits to drill for a FERC-approved project in northern Louisiana that would have crossed under an existing ET pipeline in several locations. ET tried to block the Williams project by refusing permission to cross under its pipeline. Williams finally won the right to build, but not before a long delay. Williams recently told an Argus Media reporter that Williams brought a “very large lawsuit” against ET for the delay. Read More “Williams Sues ET Again, This Time for Blocking La. Pipe Project”

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Williams CEO Says FERC Should Have Total Control Over Pipe Permits

Wow! Trump winning the election has clearly emboldened some CEOs in the oil and gas sector. Anti-fossil fuel zealots long ago figured out if they could stop new pipelines from getting built, they could block the growth of new shale drilling. The antis have been devastatingly effective in places like the northeast U.S. in places like New York, New England, and even in the three active Marcellus/Utica states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. The problem, in a nutshell, is that states have a role in approving permits for new interstate pipelines under the Clean Water Act. One CEO wants to see that changed. Read More “Williams CEO Says FERC Should Have Total Control Over Pipe Permits”

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Williams Says NatGas Demand Sky High, Full Roster of Pipe Projects

Williams delivered its third quarter update last week. The company is working overtime to expand its extensive network of natural gas pipelines. Quick fact: Did you know that Williams’ pipeline network handles about one-third of U.S. natural gas? Massive! And it’s only going to grow, according to CEO Alan Armstrong, who said: “Not only do we have a clear line of sight to a full roster of projects that are in execution, but we continue to commercialize vital high return projects across our footprint.” Much of the expansion will come in the Marcellus/Utica region and regions adjacent to ours fed by our molecules. Read More “Williams Says NatGas Demand Sky High, Full Roster of Pipe Projects”

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3rd Circuit Sides with PA Antis’ Appeal of REAE Permits 2nd Time

Williams’ Transco Regional Energy Access Expansion (REAE) project expands the mighty Transco pipeline in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to deliver an extra 829 MMcf/d of Marcellus gas to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland. About 450,000 MMcf/d of the total capacity went online in late 2023 along Transco’s Leidy Line in Pennsylvania. Another 160 MMcf/d went online in PA and NJ in early July. On July 26, FERC granted Williams’s request to bring online the final 219 MMcf/d ahead of schedule (see FERC OKs Request to Place Balance of Transco REAE Online Early). Two PA-based anti-fossil groups are still trying to get permits for the project in PA invalidated. They won a minor victory in that regard with a federal court yesterday. Read More “3rd Circuit Sides with PA Antis’ Appeal of REAE Permits 2nd Time”

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Williams Files with FERC to Expand Mighty Transco Pipe in Southeast

Last November, MDN brought you the news that pipeline giant Williams planned to proceed with a new Transco pipeline expansion project called the Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (see Transco Expansion to Add 1.4 Bcf/d Capacity to Flow M-U Gas South). The project was estimated to flow an extra 1.43 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) of Marcellus/Utica molecules southward along the Transco pipeline system, delivering those molecules to states in the southern U.S. Williams later upped the capacity to 1.587 Bcf/d (essentially from 1.4 to 1.6). Williams pre-filed with FERC earlier this year (see Williams Pre-Pre-Files for Southeast Supply Enhancement Project). On Tuesday, now a year later, Williams finally filed the full, official request with FERC to build the project. Big Green (and their high-priced lawyers) immediately jumped on the filing. Read More “Williams Files with FERC to Expand Mighty Transco Pipe in Southeast”

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Williams CEO has Never Seen Such High Demand for Natural Gas

Alan Armstrong

Alan Armstrong, CEO of Williams, had some interesting things to say during a recent webinar hosted by the Global Listed Infrastructure Organization (GLIO). Among Armstrong’s comments: “Across the board, I’ve never seen a time like this. I’ve been with Williams for 38 years and in the gas pipeline and gathering business for that length as well. And I’ve never seen a time like this where we’ve seen so much demand for services in so many areas.” Read More “Williams CEO has Never Seen Such High Demand for Natural Gas”

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Completed Maintenance on Transco Pipe Leads to Lower Gas Prices

While there are a number of interstate pipelines that crisscross the Marcellus/Utica, there is one pipeline system that is key to moving molecules out of our region to other markets, particularly in the southeast and the Gulf Coast: Transcontinental Gas Pipeline LLC (Transco), owned by Williams. Transco stretches from the Gulf Coast to New York City and was originally designed to flow gas produced in the Gulf northward. A number of years ago, Williams reversed the flow on Transco, and most of the time, it now flows M-U molecules southward to Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and beyond. When sections of Transco undergo maintenance, flows are reduced, driving down spot prices for natgas sold by drillers to the pipeline but raising the price paid by customers on the other end of the pipeline. And when maintenance is done and flows return, it reverses. Read More “Completed Maintenance on Transco Pipe Leads to Lower Gas Prices”

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FERC Chairman Says Court “Erred” in Vacating Transco REAE Cert

Willie Phillips

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision in late July vacating (nullifying) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of Transco’s Regional Energy Access Expansion (REAE) project to bring gas from Pennsylvania to New Jersey and Maryland (see DC Circuit Libs Reverse FERC Approval of Transco Northeast Expansion). At a FERC open meeting yesterday, FERC Chairman Willie Phillips (a Democrat!) said, “I want to make clear that I think the court erred in vacating our authorization.” However, Phillips said that decision and one other will force FERC to rethink how it reviews gas infrastructure projects moving forward.
Read More “FERC Chairman Says Court “Erred” in Vacating Transco REAE Cert”

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Williams Asks FERC for Emergency Cert to Keep Transco REAE Online

On July 12, Williams asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to bring the final pieces of the Regional Energy Access Expansion (REAE) project online by the end of July (see Williams Asks FERC to Place Balance of Transco REAE Online Early). On July 26, FERC granted Williams’s request to bring online the final 219 MMcf/d ahead of schedule (see FERC OKs Request to Place Balance of Transco REAE Online Early). However, on July 30, three extremely liberal judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Circuit) overturned FERC’s original approval of the $1 billion REAE project from several years ago (see DC Circuit Libs Reverse FERC Approval of Transco Northeast Expansion). Read More “Williams Asks FERC for Emergency Cert to Keep Transco REAE Online”

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Williams Adding 4.2 Bcf/d of New NatGas Pipes 2024-2027, More Later

The CEO of midstream giant Williams, Alan Armstrong, spoke at the Barclays CEO Energy-Power Conference yesterday. He gave conference attendees an update on the many (many!) projects Williams has recently completed, is currently completing, and is likely to complete in the future. The company is on track, said Armstrong, to add 12 new pipeline projects representing about 4.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of capacity from 2024-2027. Looking further out, the company said it has about 30 projects under development, representing about 11.5 Bcf/d of capacity from 2028-2032. That’s a staggering 15.7 Bcf/d of new capacity coming online from this one company. How much of it is in the Marcellus/Utica? Read More “Williams Adding 4.2 Bcf/d of New NatGas Pipes 2024-2027, More Later”

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Pennsylvania Drillers Defeat Landowner Lawsuit After 9 Years

In 2015, a group of nearly 60 landowners in northeastern Pennsylvania who had leased their land for fracking filed a lawsuit against Chesapeake Energy, Anadarko, Statoil (now Equinor), Mitsui E&P, and Access Midstream (later bought by Williams), alleging the companies had improperly deducted post-production costs (e.g., gas gathering and transportation expenses) from royalties owed to the landowners in breach of their respective leases. The lawsuit also alleged collusion and conspiracy to defraud the landowners. The lawsuit was on hold for many years while other lawsuits played out. Earlier this year, a federal court in Scranton unpaused this lawsuit, and yesterday, the judge ruled, tossing out the landowners’ claims.
Read More “Pennsylvania Drillers Defeat Landowner Lawsuit After 9 Years”

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Pipelines to the Rescue! Delivering M-U Gas to Va. & Carolinas

Recently, we’ve told you about the coming demand for natural gas to generate electricity that data centers and artificial intelligence will need (see Big Midstream Companies Eye Data Center/AI Market for New Pipes). The left’s answer for increased power demand is to kill new data centers and ban AI (see Leftists Argue for Ban on AI Because It Uses Too Much Electricity). Here in the real world, more electricity will soon be needed in Virginia and the Carolinas for a plethora of new projects in the works. Two pipelines that flow Marcellus/Utica molecules are working hard to meet the need: Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), now owned by EQT, and Transco (Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line), owned by Williams. Read More “Pipelines to the Rescue! Delivering M-U Gas to Va. & Carolinas”

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Big Midstream Companies Eye Data Center/AI Market for New Pipes

What had been a regular stream of talk about providing power to data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) has become a torrent. There is a clear connection between data centers and the natural gas industry. This most recent round of quarterly financial updates by the biggest of the big pipeline companies (all of which have a huge presence in the Marcellus/Utica) reveals a new opportunity: building natgas pipelines directly to data centers. Why? Because increasingly those data centers are considering making their own power.
Read More “Big Midstream Companies Eye Data Center/AI Market for New Pipes”

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Williams Launched REAE Aug. 1; Completed Marcellus South Gathering

Pipeline giant Williams, with major assets in the Marcellus/Utica and the owner of the mighty Transco pipeline that flows huge quantities of M-U gas south and southwest, issued its second quarter 2024 update yesterday. CEO Alan Armstrong called attention to the “crisp execution of key projects” that will benefit the company. Among those projects was the BIG news that the company’s Transco Regional Energy Access Expansion (REAE) project went fully online on August 1st. Also prominently mentioned was the completion of the company’s Marcellus South gathering expansion project.
Read More “Williams Launched REAE Aug. 1; Completed Marcellus South Gathering”

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FERC OKs Request to Place Balance of Transco REAE Online Early

On July 12, Williams asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to bring the final pieces of the Regional Energy Access Expansion (REAE) project online by the end of July (see Williams Asks FERC to Place Balance of Transco REAE Online Early). Then, on July 30, three extremely liberal judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Circuit) overturned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) approval of the $1 billion REAE project (see DC Circuit Libs Reverse FERC Approval of Transco Northeast Expansion). Mainstream media has focused nonstop on the court ruling. Missed in all of the kerfuffle over the D.C. Circuit’s ruling is the news that FERC granted Williams’ request to start up the rest of REAE.
Read More “FERC OKs Request to Place Balance of Transco REAE Online Early”