Williams Partners Commences Greenfield Pipeline Construction

One of the leading providers of energy infrastructure in the United States, Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ) , has commenced construction on the greenfield portion of the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline project in Pennsylvania.

The project is an extension of the existing Transco natural gas pipeline to link ample Marcellus gas supplies with Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S. markets.

The ground-breaking ceremony took place on Sep 15, 2017 in Columbia and Wyoming counties, where the site was prepared to begin construction of two new natural gas compressor facilities.

The Wyoming county will have Compressor Station 605, a new 30,000-horsepower facility in Clinton Township, to be constructed by VEC, Inc. In Columbia County, Compressor Station 610 will be a new 40,000 horsepower facility in Orange Township, to be assembled by LMC Industrial Contractors, Inc.

Work on the mainline part of the Atlantic Sunrise project commenced in last spring that was intended to facilitate bi-directional flow on the existing Transco pipeline system. Recently, a part of the capacity formed by these mainline alterations was commissioned.

With Williams Partners having received all the essential permits and construction releases, it proposes to start pipeline construction in Pennsylvania by Sep 25, 2017. The pipeline construction will comprise eight different construction spreads, six of which will be operating at the same time in eight counties. Four main construction contractors will conclude the installation of the 186-mile pipeline.

Subject to weather conditions, pipeline and compressor station construction is expected to last about 10 months. The project’s cost isestimated at about $3 billion. It will boost natural gas supplies by 1.7 billion cubic feet per day and is slated to be brought online by mid-2018.

The project is estimated to create direct employment for about 2,300 people in 10 PA counties during peak construction periods. Per researchers at Pennsylvania State University, the project could maintain an additional 6,000 jobs in interrelated industries and produce about $1.6 billion in economic activity.

Williams Partners has also launched a new mobile app – WilShop Local – to help link construction personnel with local service providers.

About Williams Partners

Oklahoma-based Williams Partners is a publicly traded master limited partnership with midstream infrastructure assets that are involved in transporting, gathering and processing natural gas and natural gas liquids. The partnership also has ownership interest in pipeline systems spread across 33,000 miles. These pipelines transport natural gas from North American resource plays to markets with demand for clean-power generation, heating and industrial use.

Price Movement

Shares of Williams Partners have gained 7.4% compared with the industry’s increase of 7.6% over the last three months.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Williams Partners carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked players in the energy sector include TransCanada Corporation (TO:TRP) , Transmontaigne Partners LP (NYSE:TLP) and Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Headquartered in Calgary, Canada, TransCanada is a midstream energy firm in North America. The company delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 4.06% over the last four quarters.

Transmontaigne, headquartered in Denver, CO, involves in transporting and storing refined petroleum products. The firm pulled off an average positive earnings surprise of 6.60% over the last four quarters.

Based in Fort Worth, TX, Range Resources is an independent oil and gas company, engaged in the exploration, development and acquisition of the U.S. oil and gas resources. The company’s 2017 earnings are estimated to grow 1587.17%.

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