Williams Commissions New Offshore Platform

A unit of Williams has announced that it has commissioned a new production handling platform in federal waters approximately 60 miles south of Mobile Bay, Ala. Gas production from approximately 35,000 acres of federal leases is dedicated to the platform. Construction of Williams' Canyon Station -- a fixed-leg platform in 300 feet of water in East Main Pass Block 261 -- was completed on schedule at the end of June. The jacket was installed in October 2001, followed by the deck and all of the topsides equipment in May 2002. Phil Wright, president and chief executive officer of Williams' energy services unit, said, "The deck is set, the generators are running and we're raring to go. We acted quickly to reach an agreement with the producers 18 months ago to build a world-class platform for their large-scale deepwater development." The facility will treat, process and handle natural gas and gas liquids from 10 subsea deepwater wells 55 miles away in the Camden Hills, Kings Peak and Aconcagua fields in 5,000 to 7,200 feet of water. All subsea well monitoring, flow control and chemical injection will be done from Canyon Station by Williams personnel. Williams is also using an innovative methanol recovery process developed by Houston-based Paragon Engineering to provide flow assurance for the deepwater wells. Capacity of the platform is 500 million cubic feet per day. Gas can be delivered onshore to a variety of markets via three pipeline outlets, including Williams' Transco system that runs north along the eastern seaboard. The gas fields are being developed by their owner companies and operated by TotalFinaElf E&P USA, Inc., Marathon Oil Company and BP. The fields are linked into the Canyon Express gathering system, which is operated by TotalFinaElf E&P USA, Inc. and jointly owned with Marathon Oil Company, BP, Pioneer Natural Resources Company and Nippon Oil Exploration USA Ltd. Wright added, "Williams is ready, willing and able to deliver the superior service that our customers expect. Our basic business philosophy is to make our customers even more successful. All of our contractors, along with the Minerals Management Service and the technical talent from the Canyon Express producers, have worked diligently to reach this point." The new platform will be fed by two 12-inch diameter flow lines owned by the Canyon Express producers. The feeder lines are scheduled to be completed over the next two months, allowing first deliveries through the platform to begin in September.