Williams seeks FERC approval for US$54.7M Leidy gas expansion
A Sept. 24 federal notice opens intervention in Transco's Pennsylvania pipeline application, while Williams targets late 2027 service.
Ines Halvorsen
Oct. 13 is the intervention deadline for a proposed 183,100-dekatherm-a-day Pennsylvania gas expansion by The Williams Companies, Inc. NYSEWMB subsidiary Transco, under a FERC notice published Thursday. Transco estimates the Leidy Access Expansion will cost US$54.7 million, the Sept. 24 notice says. The notice names no shipper or transportation contract term, leaving the volume and duration of any customer reservation undisclosed.
Williams shares were down 0.44 per cent to US$70.81 on the New York Stock Exchange at 1:09 p.m. EDT Thursday, according to its NYSEWMB quote. The intraday price does not isolate the filing's effect: Transco submitted its application on Sept. 4, before FERC published the notice.
Transco is seeking a certificate under Section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act in docket CP26-576-000. Publication of the application notice on Sept. 24 opened the intervention period but did not grant construction authority. FERC's description of the work calls for a 3.38-mile, 42-inch-diameter loop along the existing Leidy line in Luzerne County, with modifications at Compressor Station 515 and a new mainline valve site.
Williams targets a third-quarter 2027 construction start and fourth-quarter 2027 service. The company says it will place new pipe beside existing Transco facilities where practical and use trenchless methods where appropriate. Hydrostatic testing, commissioning and restoration remain on its list of construction activities. Its project page compares the added transport capacity with gas demand for roughly one million homes. That comparison is a measure of scale, while the filing notice does not identify a customer for the proposed firm service.
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Transco also proposes an incremental recourse rate, according to FERC. The published notice gives no dollar-per-dekatherm tariff or annual revenue estimate, so the proposed US$54.7 million spending cannot be matched to a disclosed contract value. As of Sept. 24, Williams' project fact sheet rounds the proposed capacity to 183,000 dekatherms per day.
Pennsylvania Water Certification Is Required
Transco told FERC it needs a Clean Water Act Section 401 water-quality certification from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's Major Projects Permitting Division. The Sept. 24 notice calls for the company to submit its certification request and then the state's decision or evidence of a waiver. It reports no state decision.
FERC staff must finish its environmental review or issue a review schedule within 90 days of the notice. A schedule would state when staff expects an environmental assessment or final impact statement; it would not itself authorize construction. FERC says other federal authorizations should follow within 90 days of that document, whose release date has not been set. Those steps precede Williams' targeted 2027 construction and service dates.
"Only intervenors have the right to request rehearing of Commission orders issued in this proceeding and to subsequently challenge the Commission's orders in the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal," FERC said in its Sept. 24 notice.
The next dated step is 5 p.m. EDT on Oct. 13, when FERC closes the period for comments, protests and motions to intervene.
