Williams And Boardwalk Sign Joint Venture Agreements For Proposed LPG Export Terminal

TULSA, Okla. and HOUSTON, Oct. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Williams (NYSE: WMB) and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (NYSE: BWP) today announced they have executed joint venture agreements to continue developing a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) export facility in the Lake Charles, La. area. The proposed Moss Lake LPG Terminal would be located on the Calcasieu River and serve tanker ships transporting LPG to Asian, Latin American and European markets.

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The terminal is being designed to store 900,000 barrels of fully refrigerated propane and butane with a load-rate of 25,000 barrels per hour.  Williams and Boardwalk are currently working with a number of parties to reserve off-take capacity at the terminal.   

If completed, the terminal would facilitate the export of a portion of the propane and butane components of the natural gas liquids (NGLs) transported on the proposed Bluegrass Pipeline and separated at the Moss Lake Fractionation plant, both of which are also being developed by a joint venture between Williams and Boardwalk.

Based on current market conditions, producers should benefit from the option to export propane and butane, which constitute approximately 30 percent of the liquids in an average NGL barrel. The other  NGL components – ethane, isobutane and natural gasoline –are expected to serve demand among U.S. industries, manufacturers and refineries.

The proposed Moss Lake LPG Terminal, Moss Lake Fractionation Plant and Bluegrass Pipeline represent critical infrastructure designed to support the ability of producers to economically develop the resources in the Marcellus and Utica shale-gas areas. The Bluegrass Pipeline would transport the NGLs associated with natural-gas production from Marcellus and Utica producing areas to the petrochemical complex on the U.S. Gulf Coast and markets at points in between. The Moss Lake Fractionation Plant near Lake Charles, La. would consist of storage facilities and a new, large-scale fractionation plant to separate NGLs into component products. 

"In addition to the variety of domestic markets that would be served by the Bluegrass Pipeline and Moss Lake Fractionation projects, Moss Lake LPG would offer our customers access to attractive global markets for propane and butane, which in turn allows for continued production of natural gas, crude oil and other products that are integral to helping the U.S. gain its energy independence," said Stan Horton, president and chief executive officer of Boardwalk. "Taken together, these critical infrastructure projects allow for the efficient movement of NGLs to domestic and global markets and support the development of the United States' own energy resources and the renaissance in America's job-producing manufacturing complex."

"Formalizing the joint venture agreements for the Moss Lake LPG Terminal further demonstrates Boardwalk's and Williams' commitment to meeting the needs of producers by providing multiple markets for the prolific NGL supplies in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays," said Jim Scheel, senior vice president of corporate strategic development at Williams. "In addition to the many domestic markets that our Bluegrass Pipeline and Moss Lake Fractionation projects would offer to U.S. producers of NGLs, we are pleased to offer an export option so our customers would have access to the highest-value markets for all of the components of the NGL barrel."

Sanctioning and completion of this project, including the Bluegrass Pipeline, Moss Lake Fractionation project and Moss Lake LPG, is subject to, among other conditions, execution of customer contracts sufficient to support the project and the parties' receipt of all necessary approvals, including board and regulatory approvals. In addition, each of the parties has the right, under certain circumstances, to withdraw from the project or from portions of the project, in which case the project may be terminated, only portions of the project may be completed, or the parties respective ownership interests in the project may change. Williams and Boardwalk cannot give assurances that this project will be completed, in whole or in part. However, if all conditions are satisfied and the parties elect to construct the facilities described above, the project could be placed into service in late 2015.

About Boardwalk

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (NYSE: BWP) is a midstream master limited partnership that provides transportation, storage, gathering and processing of natural gas and liquids for its customers. Boardwalk and its subsidiaries own and operate approximately 14,410 miles of natural gas and liquids pipelines and underground storage caverns with an aggregate working gas capacity of approximately 201 billion cubic feet and liquids capacity of approximately 18 million barrels. Boardwalk is a subsidiary of Loews Corporation (NYSE: L), which holds 53% of Boardwalk's equity, excluding incentive distribution rights. Additional information about the Partnership can be found on its website at www.bwpmlp.com.

About Williams

Williams (NYSE: WMB) is one of the leading energy infrastructure companies in North America. It owns interests in or operates 15,000 miles of interstate gas pipelines, 1,000 miles of NGL transportation pipelines, and more than 10,000 miles of oil and gas gathering pipelines. The company's facilities have daily gas processing capacity of 6.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas, NGL production of more than 200,000 barrels per day and domestic olefins production capacity of 1.35 billion pounds of ethylene and 90 million pounds of propylene per year. Williams owns approximately 64 percent of Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ), one of the largest diversified energy master limited partnerships. Williams Partners owns most of Williams' interstate gas pipeline and domestic midstream assets. Williams also owns Canadian operations and certain domestic olefins pipelines assets, as well as a significant investment in Access Midstream Partners, L.P. (NYSE: ACMP), a midstream natural gas services provider. The company's headquarters is in Tulsa, Okla. For more information, visit www.williams.com, where the company routinely posts important information.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to expectations, plans or prospects for Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP, The Williams Companies, Inc. and their subsidiaries, in relation to the potential for successful development of the proposed Bluegrass Pipeline and related facilities comprising the planned project discussed in this press release. These statements are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of management of Williams and Boardwalk and are subject to many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the current plans or expectations described in the forward-looking statements, including the risk and uncertainties described in the companies' Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Many of these risks and uncertainties are beyond the control of Boardwalk and Williams.

Boardwalk Investor Contact:
Molly Ladd Whitaker, 866-913-2122
Boardwalk Media Contact:
Joe Hollier, 713-479-8670
Williams Media Contact:
Tom Droege, 918-573-4034
Williams Investor Contacts:
John Porter, 918-573-0797
Sharna Reingold, 918-573-2078

SOURCE Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP