Williams late Monday said it was considering selling its natural gas processing and liquids extraction assets in Western Canada in an effort to stay afloat financially. Terms of the potential sale were not disclosed.

The announcement capped off an action-filled day in which Williams reported it expected a second-quarter recurring loss from operations of 35-to-40 cents per share, down considerably from its previous earnings’ projection for the quarter of 20-to-25 cents a share. Reaction on Wall Street was harsh, with Williams shares losing more than 60% of their value, falling by $3.15 to close at $2.01 a share. The stock of the Tulsa-based energy company has lost 94% of its value over the past year (see related story).

“We have received unsolicited expressions of interest in these [Western Canadian] assets. In light of our balance sheet strengthening plan, we believe we must consider selling them to parties for whom they may be a better strategic fit,” said Phil Wright, CEO of Williams’ energy services unit.

The Western Canadian assets, which were acquired from TransCanada in October 2000, include a total of approximately 6 Bcf of gas processing capacity, an estimated 225,000 barrels per day (b/d) of natural gas liquids production capacity, a gas liquids pipeline system and more than 5 million b/d of gas liquids storage capacity, according to the company.

“A sale would allow us to concentrate our resources on our core midstream positions in Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and the deepwater Gulf of Mexico,” said Wright. While the growth prospects for the Western Canadian basin have been better than the company originally predicted two years ago, Williams’ midstream assets in the United States “are more integrated and more complementary” to its other assets, he noted.

©Copyright 2002 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.