Williams Partners Q2 Profit Declines, To Expand Transco Pipeline Project

(RTTNews) - Williams Partners L.P. (WPZ) Wednesday reported second-quarter net income of $232 million or $0.11 per limited-partner unit, down from $271 million or $0.31 per limited-partner unit in the same period last year.

On average, fourteen analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.38 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

The decrease in net income for the quarter was primarily due to the ongoing effects of the June 13, 2013 Geismar incident that resulted in $90 million lower olefin margins partially offset by the receipt of $50 million of related insurance recoveries.

Additionally, the latest quarter was unfavorably affected by $23 million lower natural gas liquids margins and $21 million in higher net interest expense, partially offset by a 7 percent increase in fee-based revenues.

In a separate statement, Williams Partners and its wholly owned subsidiary Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC announced a fully-contracted Transco pipeline expansion project designed to deliver 180,000 dekatherms a day of additional natural gas capacity for local distribution along the Eastern Seaboard.

The Garden State Expansion Project will consist of additional compression to provide 180,000 dekatherms of firm natural gas transportation service and increased reliability to a local gas distribution company along the New Jersey coast that was affected by Hurricane Sandy.

The project is in addition to the $4.3 billion in capital expenditures planned through 2017 on Transco growth projects announced previously by Williams Partners.