Southeastern Trail expansion project : Williams secures FERC approval

Southeastern Trail expansion project FERC approval : The Williams Companies has been granted a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the Southeastern Trail project from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Southeastern Trail is an expansion of the Transco pipeline system aimed at giving additional pipeline capacity to cater to the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern markets ahead of the 2020/2021 winter heating season.

According to the Oklahoma-based midstream company, the latest Transco pipeline expansion project is expected to boost its gas transportation capacity to the two markets by 296,375 dekatherms (296 million cubic feet) per day.

As per the Southeastern Trail expansion project, Williams is constructing 7.7 miles of 42-inch pipeline looping facilities to be located in Virginia alongside extra horsepower at existing compressor stations in the state. The midstream company will also undertake some pipe and valve changes on other existing facilities across South Carolina, Louisiana, and Georgia to facilitate bi-directional flow.

The Southeastern Trail project will deliver natural gas to PSNC Energy, Virginia Natural Gas, South Carolina Electric & Gas, and the cities of Buford and La Grange in Georgia.

The Southeastern Trail expansion project will boost the capacity of the Transco pipeline system. Map courtesy of WILLIAMS.

Commenting on Southeastern Trail expansion project FERC approval, Micheal Dunn -chief operating officer of Williams, said: “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. 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 impact to the environment and landowners and more economical transportation rates for our customers than other greenfield projects serving these same markets.”

Having received all necessary regulatory approvals, Williams has started construction on the Southeastern Trail expansion project in August 2019 with a target to make it operational in November 2020.

Apart from the Southeastern Trail project, Williams had earlier received FERC approvals for two other Transco pipeline expansion projects.

The current Transco expansion project is expected to increase its system-design capacity to 17.5 million dekatherms per day from its present capacity of 17.2 million dekatherms per day.

Taking into consideration all the expansion projects of Transco including the ones under construction and the others waiting for approvals, Williams is expecting the system-design capacity to be 18 million dekatherms per day ahead of the 2020/2021 winter heating season.

The Transco pipeline delivers natural gas through a nearly 10,000-mile interstate transmission pipeline system extending from South Texas to New York City.  The interstate natural gas pipeline system, which serves the northeastern and southeastern states, transports nearly 15% of the natural gas produced in the US.