Williams Partners LP said Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC's Gulf Trace expansion project has officially entered service, joining the Cheniere Creole Trail Pipeline Co. LP and Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America LLC systems in supplying natural gas to the Sabine Pass LNG LP export terminal in Louisiana.

"Williams is well-positioned to take advantage of the projected surge in LNG demand growth, with our Transco pipeline passing through every U.S. state with an LNG export facility currently under construction," Rory Miller, senior vice president of Williams Partners' Atlantic-Gulf operating area, said in a Feb. 1 news release.

SNL Energy pipeline flow data showed Transco's Gulf Trace expansion began reporting deliveries Jan. 18. Flows on Creole Trail dropped as commissioning gas was sent on the new line.

FERC authorized Williams Partners to build the Gulf Trace project in October 2015. Sabine Pass Liquefaction LLC and Sabine Pass LNG LP were approved on Jan. 18 to place into service the related East Meter Pipe project. FERC in August 2015 cleared the Transco expansion and Cheniere Energy Inc. affiliates' East Meter pipe project in an environmental assessment. At full capacity, the projects are expected to provide 1.2 MMDth/d of additional firm gas transportation capacity from Transco Station 65 in St. Helena Parish, La., to Sabine Pass. (FERC dockets CP15-482, CP15-29)