Williams said late Wednesday that it had completed the sale of three straddle plants in southern Alberta to Inter Pipeline Fund of Calgary for C$715 million (US$536 million). The sale includes Williams’ 100% ownership interest in the Cochrane and Empress II plants, and Williams’ 50% ownership interest in the Empress V facility.

The sale does not include Williams’ olefins business that extracts natural gas liquids and olefins from oil sands refining near Fort McMurray, AB. The liquids are then fractionated into various products at a Williams facility near Redwater, AB.

In addition to the proceeds from the sale, the transaction will release approximately $30 million in U.S. funds of letters of credit and prepayments back to Williams by the end of the year. Williams expects to record an estimated pre-tax gain of $190 million in U.S. funds on the sale, which will be reported in discontinued operations in its third quarter financial results.

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