31-07-2013

Williams partners plans to bring Geismar olefins plant and expansion online

Williams  Partners L.P. is executing through its subsidiary Williams Olefins LLC on a plan that has an early April 2014 timeframe for restarting its Geismar Olefins plant and bringing online an expansion that will increase its share of the plant's ethylene production capacity by approximately 50 percent. The facility has been offline for investigatory work, damage assessment and repairs following an explosion incident on June 13. 

While the plant is offline, Williams Partners through its subsidiary  Williams Olefins LLC has been able to resume expansion construction  activities across the majority of the plant outside of the incident area, which is limited to the immediate vicinity of the propylene fractionator. Based on the initial damage assessment, Williams Partners is engaged in the engineering, procurement and demolition of impacted equipment to repair the facility. As of this time, major items slated for replacement include:
*  Piping and heat exchangers associated with the propylene fractionator
*  Significant portions of the electrical power cable and control wiring in the plant
*  Support structures and piping impacted by the incident

The company is working to reduce the duration of the repair project, which is the critical path to restart, as much as economically possible. It also intends to finalize the expansion project in this same timeframe. Williams Partners through its subsidiary Williams Olefins LLC continues to cooperate in a full and transparent manner with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) on their investigations into the cause of the incident.

Williams and Williams Partners are committed to the safe conduct of the  rebuild and expansion work ahead and to bring the expanded plant into safe and reliable operations for the benefit of our employees, contractors, the community and customers. 

Williams and Williams Partners have each updated their financial guidance as part of their second-quarter earnings news releases, issued  today.