(161b) Overcoming the Process Safety Challenges in Midstream Pipeline Operations

This paper will outline how Williams, overcomes the internal and external challenges associated with moving 6 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d), of natural gas, through almost 6,800 miles of pipeline. We will focus on the process safety management systems and practices that allow us to meet these challenges. We use the OSHA PSM regulation as a foundation upon which to build our programs. This serves a three-fold purpose, in that, it establishes a common baseline for all of our facilities, keeps process safety as an omnipresent factor for our personnel and ensures we are prepared, in those instances, when we do fall under the regulation. Upon this base, we continue to build our process safety systems so that we are able to successfully meet our internal and external challenges, while exceeding stakeholder expectations and increasing value to our stockholders.