Williams Companies added another increment of southbound natural gas capacity on Transco and pointed to a larger wave of expansions aimed at Southeast and Mid-Atlantic utilities into the 2030s during its Q3 2026 earnings call on November 2.
CEO Chad Zamarin introduced Southeast Supply Enhancement II (#6 in slide below), saying “the follow-on project, creatively referred to as SESE 2,” is a 150+ MMcf/d expansion project. The earnings slides show a Q2 2029 target in-service date, with the capacity reflecting a single signed customer agreement on a mainline segment in southern Virginia and northern North Carolina. Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Larry Larsen said the contracted volume is with a high-credit utility and that a second customer is interested in the remaining capacity. He expects returns in Williams’ typical 4-6X build multiple range.
The original SESE (#5 in slide), at 1,597 MMcf/d, is under construction for a Q3 2027 start, and Zamarin said it “will be the largest project in the company’s history by earnings contribution.” The slides also settled a question we have been tracking on Power Express (#4), which is now listed at 800 MMcf/d with signed customer agreements and a Q3 2030 target, down from the 950 MMcf/d cited when the project was announced in May 2025.
Source: Williams Companies
A new item on the Transco project slide is the Dalton Lateral Expansion II (#7), providing up to 460 MMcf/d into northwest Georgia by Q4 2029. Further north, Leidy Access (#2; 183 MMcf/d) has filed its FERC application for Q4 2027, and Garden Connector (#3) was upsized by 84 MMcf/d to 144 MMcf/d for Q2 2028.
Management was clear that it sees more to come. Zamarin called Transco “the nation’s most important artery for supplying utilities along that corridor,” from the Gulf Coast through the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic into the Northeast, and said Williams is “already having really encouraging discussions regarding the next wave of large expansion projects,” with the team focused on projects “into the 2030s.” Larsen went further, saying “the expansion opportunity on Transco, it is almost limitless,” and that he is optimistic about commercializing additional projects in 2027. The comments come a few weeks after Kinder Morgan took FID on its 2.6-Bcf/d Southeast Connector, which will move Appalachian supply into Southern Natural Gas, so the race to serve Southeast power demand is now running on both systems.
On the supply side, Williams continues to build Haynesville connectivity into Transco. The Delta Access project (#8; 2,250 MMcf/d, Q1 2029) and the Shelby Trough Connector “will expand the delivery of Haynesville gas into Transco,” Zamarin said, and Larsen added that Delta Access “hopefully will continue to upsize.” The separate Line 200 project (#10; 3,100 MMcf/d) is slated for Q2 2028.
The one setback was the Northeast Supply Enhancement project (NESE; #1) into New York, as the Third Circuit has remanded the project’s New Jersey certificate. General counsel Lane Wilson said “there’s nothing in that remand that has really jeopardized the project,” though the path forward will depend on cooperation from New Jersey. Zamarin conceded the remand “could put at risk our ability to get it online in time for next winter,” even as the slides still show a Q4 2027 in-service date. Management said a delay would not materially change its financial outlook.
