TULSA, Okla.—Williams announced May 4 that it has secured another tieback to Discovery’s Keathley Canyon Connector (KCC) pipeline, providing deepwater natural gas infrastructure services to operator LLOG Exploration Offshore LLC., for its new Salamanca development in the Keathley Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico.
The Salamanca platform will handle production from the Leon and Castile fields and will be located 200 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Initial production is expected in second-quarter 2025. Salamanca will be the third deepwater production tieback to the KCC pipeline, which went into service in 2015 as a primary natural gas corridor through the Central Gulf of Mexico, and fifth overall tieback to the Discovery system over the past two years.
“Williams provides critical infrastructure to gather and transport the Gulf of Mexico’s low carbon intensity natural gas for U.S. consumption,” said Alan Armstrong, Williams president and CEO. “Our scale and connectivity in the Gulf of Mexico provides a safe, seamless and efficient path to market, allowing our customers to maximize the value of these important deepwater resources.”
The 30-mile tieback to KCC is expected to be constructed, owned, and operated by LLOG, an investment vehicle managed by ArcLight Capital Partners LLC and other co-owners. KCC is part of the Williams-operated Discovery system, which is jointly owned by Williams (60%) and DCP Midstream LP (40%). KCC transports rich natural gas offshore to onshore gas processing at Discovery’s plant in Larose, La., and NGL fractionation at Discovery’s Paradis facility in Louisiana.
Williams’ assets in the Gulf of Mexico offer producers the full value chain of capabilities—including gathering, transmission, processing, and fractionation. Williams owns and operates 3,500 miles of natural gas and oil gathering and transmission pipeline, along with 1.8 billion cubic feet per day of cryogenic processing capacity and 60,000 barrels per day of fractionation capacity that span the Gulf of Mexico. The company has ownership in two floating production platforms, multiple fixed leg utility platforms and numerous other related facilities. The Salamanca development marks the seventh tieback to Williams’ deep water offshore assets over the past two years.
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