The Williams Companies, Inc. WMB has filed a big lawsuit against industry rival Energy Transfer LP ET accusing it of the alleged obstructions leading to delay in Williams’ Louisiana Energy Gateway (LEG) pipeline project. William’s chief executive highlighted the probable risks of the case along with delaying its project deadline, threatening to disrupt the industry norms and fair competition.
The reason behind the dispute was the construction of the 1.8 billion cubic feet per day LEG pipeline in northern Louisiana, a project important to meet WMB's vision of strengthening gas supply for upcoming LNG export terminals. WMB’s pipeline under this project would have crossed under ET’s Tiger pipeline, situated in the Haynesville shale, which was objected to by ET, citing concerns of excessive crossings. Meanwhile, Williams argued that these refusals were less based on technical factors and more based on market control.
Energy Transfer also tried to influence the federal regulators to classify LEG as an interstate transmission line, subjecting it to stricter supervision, but the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission dismissed the request in September 2024.
WMB said that the lawsuit is beyond the immediate dispute. The company seeks a cooperative nature among pipeline industries where all the companies can work collaterally with healthy competition.
Despite winning multiple legal battles and obtaining the necessary permits, Williams suffered significant setbacks. The LEG pipeline’s in-service date shifted from late 2024 to the latter half of 2025 due to delays caused by litigation.
Oklahoma-based The Williams Companies, a premier energy infrastructure provider in North America, is currently holding a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors interested in the energy sector might look at some better-ranked stocks like Flotek Industries, Inc. FTK and Nine Energy Service, Inc. NINE.Flotek Industries and Nine Energy Service each carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Flotek Industries develops and delivers prescriptive chemistry-based technology, including specialty chemicals, to clients in the energy, consumer industrials and food & beverage industries. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FTK’s 2024 earnings indicates 125% year-over-year growth.
Houston, TX-based Nine Energy Service, Inc. provides onshore completion and production services to unconventional oil and gas resource development. NINE’s expected EPS (earnings per share) growth rate for the current quarter is 33.33%, which aligns favorably with the industry growth rate of 9.93%.
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Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (WMB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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