Williams Companies Committed in New York Fight Over Constitution Pipeline

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Williams Companies Incorporated (NYSE:WMB) (Tulsa, Oklahoma) is working with the Trump administration to find a way forward on the Constitution natural gas pipeline project, which has been ensnared in regulatory and legal battles for over a year in New York, according to top executives with the energy company.

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Chief Executive Officer Alan Armstrong said during Williams' first-quarter earnings conference call last week that he remains hopeful about the project. Owned by subsidiaries of Williams Partners LP (NYSE:WPZ) (Tulsa), Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE:COG) (Houston, Texas), Piedmont Natural Gas Company (NYSE:PNY) (Charlotte, North Carolina) and WGL Holdings Incorporated (NYSE:WGL) (Washington, D.C.), the proposed, 124-mile pipeline would connect Appalachian natural gas supplies in northern Pennsylvania with major northeastern markets. The project hit a roadblock last year in New York, when state environmental regulators denied a permit for the pipeline, saying it could impact up to 250 environmentally sensitive streams. Since then, the case has been under appeal in the court system. For related information, see April 26, 2016, article - Tough Times for Pipelines: Two Major Northeast Projects Hit Roadblocks.

"We are optimistic that there are a lot of people, including the unions, [who] have been big supporters" of the project, Armstrong said.

He added that the rejection of National Fuel Gas Company's (NYSE:NFG) (Williamsville, New York) permit application for the $455 million Northern Access Pipeline project last month by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation "has turned the heat up on this issue as well." For more on that project, see April 18, 2017, article - New York Denies Permit for Proposed Northern Access Gas Pipeline.

"I would say the pressure is mounting on the issue," Armstrong said. "You've got projects there that are both important to New England and to New York, as well as important to jobs and getting some of the regulatory morass out of the way in getting the infrastructure built, all of which is a top priority for the [Trump] administration. We got a lot of people on our side on that, and we are going to continue to push forward on it."

Williams is on track with its plans to bring several major natural gas projects online this year, Armstrong said. The Gulf Trace Pipeline went into service in the first quarter, he noted. The 1.2 billion-cubic-foot-per-day (Bcf/d) pipeline supplies Cheniere Energy Incorporated's (NSYE:LNG) (Houston, Texas) Sabine Pass liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing and export facility in Louisiana.

The projects that are scheduled to come online before the end of this year are tied to the Trans Continental Pipeline (Transco) network, which runs between South Texas and New York to provide natural gas to markets in the Southeast and Atlantic Seaboard states. Major Transco projects to come online this year would add about 4.5 billion Bcf/d of expansion capacity for Transco. Among them, the company is pursuing early mainline service revenue from the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline, which is expected to reach partial service in the second half of 2017 and full service in 2018. The project is designed to deliver 1.7 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shales to markets in the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern states. Construction has begun on the Garden State pipeline, which will provide additional service to New Jersey Natural Gas Company (NJNG), and construction is nearing completion on Hillabee Phase 1, which will expand the Transco pipeline's capacity in Alabama.

Looking forward, Armstrong noted that Williams has submitted a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FEC) application for the proposed Northeast Supply Enhancement project, which would expand the Transco natural gas pipeline system by the 2019-2020 winter heating season to provide natural gas to New York City.

Williams reported net income of $373 million for first-quarter 2017, compared with a $65 million loss in first-quarter 2016.

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