In separate agreements, Chevron USA Inc. and Samedan Oil Corp. have selected units of Williams, Tulsa, to gather, process, and transport up to 115 MMcfd of natural gas from wells off the coast of Alabama. Financial terms of the agreements were not disclosed.
The production is from the carbonate trend development that lies just south of Mobile Bay in the Gulf of Mexico. Williams will connect gas production from 12 blocks to its infrastructure by installing 33 miles of offshore pipeline. Initial volumes are expected in September 2000.
The agreements come less than 60 days after Williams received a volume commitment of about 75 MMcfd from Houston-based companies Vastar Resources Inc. and Newfield Exploration Co., who are jointly developing reserves off the Alabama coast (OGJ Online, May 17, 2000).
Alan Armstrong, vice-president of gathering and processing in Williams's midstream unit, says the new contracts are the result of Williams's investments in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Williams recently added transportation capacity in Mobile Bay and a new processing plant at Coden, Ala.
"The volumes from Chevron and Samedan are examples of the success producers are seeing in the eastern Gulf of Mexico," said Armstrong. "The reserves in this area provide significant deliveries into our facilities and bode well for the Buccaneer pipeline project that is under consideration by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission."
The $1.5 billion Buccaneer Gas Pipeline project, a joint development between Duke Energy Corp., Charlotte, NC, and Williams, is designed to transport natural gas from processing plants near Alabama's Mobile Bay to Florida. An application to build the 674-mile pipeline was filed with FERC Oct. 28, 1999, and received its preliminary determination Apr. 25, 2000. The determination means that, subject to environmental requirements, the project will almost certainly be approved.
