OREANDA-NEWS. Williams (NYSE: WMB) announced today that Transco has filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to expand its pipeline system to serve the growing need for natural gas by electric generators, natural gas distributors and end-users in the southeastern United States.

The Hillabee Expansion Project is designed to expand the existing Transco pipeline's capacity in Alabama beginning in May 2017, providing incremental firm capacity from certain receipt points located at Transco's Station 85 in Choctaw County, Ala. to a proposed point of interconnection between Transco and the Sabal Trail pipeline in Tallapoosa County, Ala. Sabal Trail will acquire by lease 100 percent of such capacity on a long-term basis.

To be constructed in three phases, the proposed Hillabee Expansion would add a total of approximately 1.13 million dekatherms per day of pipeline capacity to the Transco system by May 2021. That's enough natural gas to meet the needs of more than 4 million American homes annually.

The proposal involves the construction of approximately 43 miles of additional pipe segments (called loops) in Alabama, a new compressor facility in Choctaw County, Ala., as well as modifications to other existing compressor stations and valve sites.

"By maximizing the use of our existing transmission corridor, our goal is to minimize the impact on property owners and the environment while serving the growing demand for natural gas in the southeast," said Frank Ferazzi, Vice President & General Manager of Williams' Transco pipeline. "The Hillabee project is yet another incremental expansion to the Transco system to better connect the growing supply of North American natural gas with the best markets."

The Hillabee Expansion project is part of the USD 4.5 billion in capital expenditures planned through 2017 on Transco growth projects. Transco is the nation's largest and fastest-growing interstate natural gas transmission pipeline system. It delivers natural gas to customers through its 10,200-mile pipeline network whose mainline extends nearly 1,800 miles between South Texas and New York City. The system is a major provider of cost-effective natural gas services that reach U.S. markets in 12 Southeast and Atlantic Seaboard states, including major metropolitan areas in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.