Williams has commissioned the Gulf Connector Project, an expansion of the existing Transco natural gas pipeline in the US states of Texas and Louisiana, to deliver an additional 475 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Image: Gulf Connector Project placed into service by Williams. Photo: courtesy of Michael & Christa Richert/Freeimages.com.
Through the Gulf Connector Project, the Transco pipeline will provide feed to Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi liquefaction terminal and Freeport LNG Development’s liquefaction project, both located on the Gulf Coast.
Cheniere Energy had commenced commissioning of the first train of the Corpus Christi liquefaction terminal in August 2018 with completion slated in the first quarter of this year.
Williams president and CEO Alan Armstrong said: “Since 2017, Williams has now added more than two billion cubic feet per day of capacity to directly serve global LNG export facilities.
“Projects like Gulf Connector, which leverage existing gas pipeline infrastructure, make it possible to connect abundant domestic supply with emerging international markets, giving a boost to the U.S. economy while helping meet the world’s increasing demand for clean energy.”
The Gulf Connector Project saw Williams add compression capacity and make the natural gas flow bi-directional on a part of the Transco pipeline system between Louisiana and south Texas.
It included installation of new 7,800 hp compressor station in San Patricio County, a new 21,600 hp compressor station in Victoria County and a new 1,500 hp compressor station in Wharton County, all located in Texas.
To achieve bi-directional flow, Williams undertook piping and valve modifications on Transco pipeline’s mainline at existing facilities located in Wharton and Hardin Counties, respectively.
To serve the Corpus Christi LNG project, a new interconnect was installed in San Patricio County near the newly built compressor station.
The Gulf Connector Project, which secured approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in November 2017, broke ground in the first quarter of 2018, and was executed in two phases.
It is the second project of Williams, which has been designed to cater to the Gulf Coast LNG terminals. In February 2017, the company commissioned the Gulf Trace Project to provide 1.2 Bcf/d to Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass Liquefaction project located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.