Construction Startup on Williams Hillabee Expansion Set for May

By Brad Kramer March 14, 2016 View Profile

Williams Partners LP is gearing up to begin construction on its Hillabee Expansion project. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently approved the project, which will expand the company’s Transco pipeline system by 1.13 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) to serve the growing need for natural gas in Florida, according to a March 11 company statement. Construction is scheduled to begin in May.

The first phase of the project is expected to go into service in May 2017. It will provide incremental firm capacity from certain receipt points located at Transco’s Station 85 in Choctaw County, Alabama, to a proposed point of interconnection between Transco and the Sabal Trail pipeline in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. Sabal Trail will acquire by lease 100 percent of such capacity on a long-term basis.

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To be constructed in three phases, the Hillabee Expansion is designed to add enough natural gas pipeline capacity to meet the annual needs of more than 4 million U.S. homes by May 2021.

The expansion involves the construction of approximately 43 miles of additional pipe segments (or loops) in Alabama, a new compressor facility in Choctaw County and modifications to other existing compressor stations and valve sites. The Hillabee Expansion project is included in Williams Partners 2016 growth capital funding plan announced Jan. 25.

“We’re excited to move forward as planned with this critical piece of infrastructure to help meet long-term natural gas needs in Florida,” said Rory Miller, senior vice president of Williams Partners’ Atlantic-Gulf operating area. “The Hillabee expansion is among several fully contracted interstate pipeline projects Williams Partners is executing on to connect North America’s abundant natural gas supplies to demand growth from the local distribution, electric power generation, industrial and LNG export businesses.”

Transco, a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams Partners, is one of the largest and fastest-growing interstate natural gas transmission pipeline systems in the United States. 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.