Williams

Williams Partners LP’s Northwest Pipeline GP has received authorization from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to place its 30-inch diameter mainline loop, known as the Sundance Trail Expansion, into service. The project includes about 15.5 miles of pipeline and related facilities that will provide 150,000 Dth/d of firm capacity from the Greasewood and Meeker/White River hubs in Rio Blanco County, CO, to the Opal Hub area in Lincoln County, WY. Northwest replaced and added compression at its Vernal Compressor Station in Uintah County, UT. The project cost about $56 million.

Opal Plant operator Williams Field Services (WFS) said it was continuing to curtail Cycle 3 (Intraday 1) nominations for Wednesday’s gas day after the Turbo Expander Plant 4 went down again (see Daily GPI, Nov. 3) after an attempted start at 5:45 p.m. MDT Tuesday. WFS said further investigation revealed the issue, and manufacturer Solar has located replacement parts that would be on site Wednesday. The new estimated time for restoring full Opal capacity was midnight Wednesday.

Operator Williams Field Services (WFS) said the Opal Plant did not reach full production at the projected time Tuesday due to a delay in the turnaround time from a shutdown. Thus it was necessary to curtail nominations for Wednesday’s gas day to make up for the previous day’s shortfalls to downstream pipes, WFS said. LaBarge Compressor Station remained down, it added, and Enterprise “had issues at Bridger Station, which resulted in a significantly reduced volume to the inlet of Opal Plant.” There was no estimated time for Bridger Station start-up, WFS said Wednesday.

Reflecting conditions of depressed demand and surplus supplies in the Pacific Northwest, Williams’ Northwest Pipeline Co. has decided to halt plans for a 172-mile extension of 36- and 30-inch diameter pipelines that was set to provide another 500 MMcf/d of capacity into the region’s Interstate 5 corridor.

Reflecting conditions of depressed demand and surplus supplies in the Pacific Northwest, Williams’ Northwest Pipeline Co. has decided to halt plans for a 172-mile extension of 36- and 30-inch diameter pipelines that was set to provide another 500 MMcf/d of capacity into the region’s Interstate 5 corridor.

Williams Partners LP has placed the first phase of its Transco pipeline 85 North expansion into service, providing 90,000 Dth/d to fuel Constellation Energy’s new 740 MW power plant in Tallapoosa County, AL. Phase II of the project will increase the pipeline’s capacity by an additional 218,500 Dth/d by summer 2011, serving new and existing power generating facilities in North Carolina. Phase I of the project required adding 17,900 hp at two compressor facilities in Alabama. Phase II will require the addition of approximately 22 miles of 42-inch diameter pipeline in Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina, as well as a new 20,500 hp compressor facility in South Carolina and modifications to several existing compressor stations. The total cost of the project is about $241 million.

Williams Field Services (WFS) said the La Barge Compressor Station in the Green River gathering area was still down Thursday morning after experiencing an equipment failure Wednesday afternoon that resulted in decreased flows in the field and curtailment of volumes at the WFS-operated Opal Plant. WFS said it was making Cycle 4 nomination cuts for Wednesday’s gas day and Cycle 3 cuts for Thursday’s gas day “in order to align nominations with flowing gas.” Shippers were asked to rank their delivery priorities in anticipation of nomination reductions.

Williams Field Services (WFS) said the La Barge Compressor Station in the Green River gathering area was still down Thursday morning after experiencing an equipment failure Wednesday afternoon that resulted in decreased flows in the field and curtailment of volumes at the WFS-operated Opal Plant. WFS said it was making Cycle 4 nomination cuts for Wednesday’s gas day and Cycle 3 cuts for Thursday’s gas day “in order to align nominations with flowing gas.” Shippers were asked to rank their delivery priorities in anticipation of nomination reductions.

Williams Field Services (WFS) will perform emergency maintenance Thursday on the Turbo Expander Plant 5 unit at Opal Plant to remove a freeze in the gas-to-gas exchanger, according to a posting on the Kern River bulletin board. Estimated impact will be 90 MMcf for Thursday’s gas day, WFS said. Barring unforeseen delays, nominations can return to pre-maintenance levels beginning Friday, it added.