Williams (NYSE: WMB) announced today that its proprietary Gulfstar FPS™ (Floating Production System) has been placed into service as Gulfstar One and is now providing oil and natural gas handling for Hess Corporation, the operator of the Tubular Bells field located in the eastern deepwater Gulf of Mexico and Chevron U.S.A. Inc., Tubular Bells’ non-operating co-owner.

The floating production system is moored 135 miles southeast of New Orleans in about 4,300 feet of water. It serves as a hub that aggregates production and then combines production handling services with oil and gas export pipeline services, which feed Williams’ downstream oil and gas gathering and processing services on the Gulf Coast.

Gulfstar’s base capacity is capable of processing up to 60,000 BPD and 132 MMCf/d with additional potential tieback capacity.

“I applaud our project team for their commitment to meet the challenges that made Gulfstar One a success, while achieving top-quartile safety performance,” said Evan Kirchen, vice president of project execution, Williams’ Atlantic-Gulf operating area. “As intended, Gulfstar’s innovative design is connecting energy supplies with the best markets in North America. This project is another great example of how Williams is serving our customers by developing large-scale, complex midstream infrastructure projects in a safe and responsible manner.”

In addition to anchor commitments from Hess and Chevron, in December 2013 Gulfstar One LLC executed agreements with Gunflint field owners Noble Energy, Inc., Ecopetrol America Inc., Marathon Oil Company and Samson Offshore Mapleleaf LLC. The Gunflint tieback is designed and engineered with modifications expected to be completed after the Gulfstar project is completed.

Major components of Gulfstar One were built entirely in the United States, creating approximately 7,000 direct and indirect domestic jobs and allowing quick parts replacement and reduced platform downtime. Gulf Marine Fabricators built the hull in Ingleside, Texas, and Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc. constructed the topsides in Houma, La.

Williams Partners (NYSE: WPZ) developed the project and it has a 51 percent ownership interest in Gulfstar One LLC and Marubeni Corporation has a 49 percent interest. Williams owns controlling interests in and is the general partner of Williams Partners.

About Williams, Williams Partners and Access Midstream Partners

Williams, headquartered in Tulsa, Okla., is one of the leading energy infrastructure companies in North America. It owns controlling interests in both Williams Partners L.P. and Access Midstream Partners, L.P. through its ownership of 100 percent of the general partner of each partnership. Additionally, Williams owns approximately 66 percent and 50 percent of the limited partner units of Williams Partners L.P. and Access Midstream Partners, L.P., respectively.

Williams Partners L.P. owns and operates both on-shore and off-shore assets of approximately 15,000 miles of natural gas gathering and transmission pipelines, 1,800 miles of NGL transportation pipelines, an additional 11,000 miles of oil and gas gathering pipelines and numerous other energy infrastructure assets. The partnership's operated facilities have daily gas gathering capacity of approximately 11 billion cubic feet, processing capacity of approximately 7 billion cubic feet, NGL production of more than 400,000 barrels per day and domestic olefins production capacity of 1.95 billion pounds of ethylene and 114 million pounds of propylene per year.

Access Midstream Partners, L.P. owns and operates natural gas midstream assets across nine states, with an average net throughput of approximately 4.13 billion cubic feet per day and more than 6,773 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the partnership's operations are focused on the Barnett, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Marcellus, Niobrara and Utica Shales and the Mid-Continent region of the U.S.

For more information about Williams, Williams Partners and Access Midstream Partners, visit www.williams.com, www.williamslp.com and www.accessmidstream.com.

Portions of this document may constitute “forward-looking statements” as defined by federal law. Although the company believes any such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that actual outcomes will not be materially different. Any such statements are made in reliance on the “safe harbor” protections provided under the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Additional information about issues that could lead to material changes in performance is contained in the company’s annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.