Williams names new CEO, notes power project advancements

Williams Cos. Inc., Tulsa, Okla., has named Chad Zamarin to succeed Alan Armstrong as president and chief executive officer.

Armstrong, who has served as the company’s chief executive for the past 14 years, will become executive chairman of the Williams board of directors, effective, July 1, 2025, the company said in a release May 5.

Zamarin, who joined the company in 2017 and has served as executive vice-president of corporate strategic development since 2023, will also join the board.

Stephen Bergstrom, current chairman of the board, will transition to lead independent director.

Armstrong, who joined Williams in 1986 as an engineer, has served in various roles throughout the company, moving up to senior vice-president midstream before becoming chief executive officer in January 2011. During Armstrong's tenure, Williams has expanded its reach and now handles one-third of all US natural gas volumes through gathering, processing, transportation, and storage services, the company said in its release.

On May 6, on a call to discuss first-quarter earnings and operations, the to-be chief executive told analysts not to expect sweeping changes in company strategy.

“Rest assured that there are no major sea changes here and no change in how the compass is set,” Zamarin said.

First-quarter 2025

As part of its earnings report, Williams noted a strengthened project pipeline and a year-over-year increase in net income.

In March, Williams acquired a 15% equity stake in Cogentirx, an independent power producer, for about $150 million in cash. The privately held company holds interests in 11 natural gas power plants. In the earnings release, Armstrong said the company expects the deal will enhance its market intelligence and give the company “line of sight to how [Williams] can better serve the growing power markets with gas supply."

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The company also noted commitment, through subsidiary Will-Power, to the $1.6-billion Socrates project (behind-the-meter power generation plants) in New Albany, Ohio. The project includes building two power generation plants powered by natural gas with total committed generation capacity of 400 Mw. If approved by regulators, the target in-service date is third-quarter 2026.

In addition, Armstrong noted a 950 MMcfd Transco Power Express expansion project “to serve the power-hungry Virginia market” starting in third-quarter 2030.

During the quarter, Williams started construction on Transco’s Alabama Georgia Connector and MountainWest’s Overthrust Westbound Expansion and placed Transco’s Southeast Energy Connector and Texas to Louisiana Energy Pathway in-service.

Net income for first-quarter 2025 was $690 million, up from $631 million in the prior-year quarter. The increase reflects a $98 million increase in service revenues driven by expansion projects and acquisitions, a favorable change of $60 million in net unrealized gains/losses on commodity derivatives, and higher realized results from upstream operations, including contributions from the fourth-quarter 2024 Crowheart acquisition, the company said. The favorable changes were partially offset by higher operating costs and depreciation resulting from expansion projects and acquisitions, as well as lower commodity marketing margins.

Adjusted net income for first-quarter 2025 was $730 million, compared with $719 million in the prior-year quarter.

First-quarter 2025 cash flow from operations increased to $1.43 billion compared with $1.23 billion in first-quarter 2024 primarily due to favorable net changes in working capital and derivative collateral requirements.

Williams raised the midpoint of its 2025 adjusted EBITDA guidance by $50 million to $7.7 billion within the $7.5-7.9 billion range. Growth capex for 2025 is guided to $2.575-2.875 billion and maintenance capex of $650-750 million, excluding capital of $150 million for emissions reduction and modernization initiatives.