Atlantic Sunrise ups volumes, revenues: Williams

Midstream company Williams' Atlantic Sunrise natural gas pipeline expansion drove its increased volumes and revenues in the US northeast during the fourth quarter, company executives said on an earnings call today.

The 2.7 Bcf/d (76mn m³/d) expansion began full service in October, allowing largely stranded gas from the northeast Pennsylvania portion of the Marcellus shale to meet demand markets in the Gulf coast, as well as meet LNG export demand via the new Cove Point LNG facility in Maryland. The project was a boon for independent producers operating in the area, with Cabot Oil & Gas, Seneca Resources and Range Resources all contracting for capacity on the line.

Williams' northeast fourth quarter volumes rose by 13pc on the year, with after-tax profits for the segment rising by 28pc as a result of the project's start, chief executive Alan Armstrong said. Partly as a result of the expansion, Transco delivered a record amount of natural gas on 21 January at 15.7 Bcf/d.

Williams in early January brought its 460mn cf/d Gulf Connector project into service, shipping Marcellus gas to a Freeport and Corpus Christi LNG export project being built in Texas.

"The majority of our project execution risk that is behind our growth drivers for 2019 has been squared away," Armstrong said.

The company has garnered a few regulatory milestones with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for its remaining project backlog in recent months, with its 400mn cf/d Northeast Supply Enhancement expansion and its 286mn cf/d Southeastern Trail project both receiving positive environmental reviews, and its 63mn cf/d Gateway Expansion project receiving full FERC approval.

This year Williams is setting its sights on possible expansions in the Denver-Jules basin, and just executed a new gas gathering and processing agreement for a 5,200-acre area that is fully permitted there.

Williams' capital spending guidance for 2019 has increased from previous estimates of $2.6bn to a range of $2.7bn-2.9bn primarily on project timing shifts from 2018 to 2019. The company reported a loss of $572mn for the fourth quarter, compared with profits of $1.7bn a year earlier, driven partly by an impairment of gathering assets in the Barnett shale and the sale of Gulf coast pipeline systems.