US natural gas company Williams has announced plans to expand its capacity with 12 new projects, expected to add around 4.2bcf/d from 2024 to 2027, reported Reuters, citing CEO Alan Armstrong.   

The expansion follows the company's completion of 17 projects, which added approximately 5bcf/d of capacity from 2018 to 2023.  

Among the upcoming projects is the 1.8bcf/d Louisiana Energy Gateway gas pipeline, currently under construction and due to begin service in the latter half of 2025. 

Additionally, the 1.6bcf/d Southeast Supply Enhancement is in development and could be operational by the fourth quarter of 2027. 

A billion cubic feet of natural gas can supply about five million US homes per day.  

Speaking at the Barclays CEO Energy-Power Conference, Armstrong highlighted that the $1.45bn Southeast Supply Enhancement project would cater to the increasing demand from residential, commercial and industrial sectors across several Mid-Atlantic and south-east US states, including the surging electricity needs of data centres. 

Armstrong said: "We are seeing a tremendous amount of growth effectively at the (power) utility level (for data centres and AI) – so it is not us capturing that market directly – but we are more than happy to have the utilities capture that load and for us to serve the utilities.” 

He also noted the rising power demand for gas as coal-fired power plants are phased out.  

Williams has approximately 30 projects under development, representing around 11.5bcf/d of capacity and estimated capital expenditure of around $10.2bn, which could be serviceable from 2026 to 2032. 

These projects are designed to meet the future demand for gas from sectors such as industrial, power generation and liquefied natural gas export customers.  

On the topic of mergers and acquisitions, Armstrong stated that Williams has been focusing on acquiring more gas storage facilities, considering it a strategic area for growth. 

In a separate development, Williams refuted claims of extending a takeover offer to Targa Resources, following a report by Bloomberg that suggested Targa had dismissed an informal acquisition interest from Williams, which allegedly undervalued the company.