Williams returns Rita-damaged plant to partial service

Tuesday, February 14th 2006, 1:45 pm

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ A Williams Cos.' natural gas processing plant that was damaged by Hurricane Rita in southern Louisiana is operating again at partial capacity, the company said Tuesday.

The Sept. 24 storm filled the Cameron Meadows plant's compressors and engines with salt water and dirt when its eye passed over the communities of Johnson Bayou and Cameron, the Tulsa-based company said.

Repair crews had to remove the debris, refurbish motors and other components and replace instrumentation and electronics.

The plant began startup operations last week and is now able to process up to 300 million cubic feet of natural gas per day through one of its two main processing units.

Repairs under way on the second unit are expected to restore the plant to its full capacity of 500 million cubic feet per day in the second quarter, the company said.