Williams Partners files FERC application for Southeastern Trail natural gas expansion

Williams Partners L.P. filed an application with the Federal Regulatory Commission last week in the hopes of expanding a natural gas pipeline for the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States.

The application is on behalf of Transco, an interstate natural gas pipeline and subsidiary of Williams Partners. It operates 10,200 miles of pipelines but now seeks to undertake the Southeastern Trail Expansion project to add around 7.7 miles of pipeline looping facilities and horsepower additions in Virginia, as well as piping and valve modifications in South Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana.

“Southeastern Trail is a critical project that will work to bring key supplies from interconnects in the Mid-Atlantic region to growing demand centers in the Southeastern U.S.,” Micheal Dunn, COO of Williams Partners’ general partner, said. “This vital project, along with additional expansion opportunities under development, will link low-cost supply to key customers in high-growth markets and continues the expansion of southbound capacity on the Transco pipeline system. Construction of this project along Transco’s existing corridor results in significantly less environmental impact and more economical transportation rates for our customers than other greenfield projects serving these same markets.”

The end result, the company stated, could create as much as 296,375 dekatherms per day of additional firm transportation capacity for the 2020/2021 winter heating season. It would help meet growing demand for natural gas in the Southeast and provide access to new sources of domestic natural gas while enhancing the system’s reliability overall.

To this end, Williams Partners has already undertaken precedent agreements with utility and local distribution companies in the affected states. They held an open season for the project last summer that concluded with long-term binding precedent agreements for five natural gas shippers.