Williams connects Transco lateral to Jurrasic Norphlet

July 25, 2019
Williams acquired and placed into service the 16-in. Norphlet deepwater gathering pipeline system extending 54 miles from the Shell-operated Appomattox FPS in 7,400 ft of water to the Transco Main Pass 261A junction platform 60 miles south of Mobile, Ala.

Williams Cos. Inc. acquired and placed into service the 16-in. Norphlet deepwater gathering pipeline system constructed by Shell Offshore Inc., operator, and CNOOC Petroleum Offshore USA Inc. extending 54 miles from the Shell-operated Appomattox floating production system in 7,400 ft of water to the Transco Main Pass 261A junction platform 60 miles south of Mobile, Ala. The start of gas delivery was June 22.

The acquisition extends the reach of the Williams pipeline network by connecting Williams’ existing Transco offshore pipeline lateral to the prolific Jurassic play developed by Shell and CNOOC in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

The Norphlet deepwater gas gathering pipeline system, capable of gathering 261-291 MMcfd of natural gas, connects more than 33,000 acres of dedicated leases to Williams’ Mobile Bay processing facility via the Transco lateral at the Main Pass 261A junction platform. The completed project also included the installation of a spare subsea connector for additional floating production system volumes, as well as modifications to Williams’ Mobile Bay processing facility including a 118% expansion to the slug handling capacity and a 329% increase in stabilizing capacity.

Some 50% of the pipeline’s contractual capacity remains available for future producer discoveries in the area, Williams said.