PITTSBURGH -- Producers, operators and industry leaders alike braved the frigid Pittsburgh temperatures on Jan. 29 to listen to Alan Armstrong, president and CEO of Williams Companies. Inc. (NYSE: WMB), give his outlook on the Appalachian Super Cycle as the opening keynote speaker at Hart Energy’s Marcellus-Utica Midstream Conference.

“Large-scale, integrated infrastructure is absolutely imperative to develop the great resource that we have before us,” he said. “The existing network of pipelines in the U.S. has allowed this nation to be one of the most energy-efficient in the world, and our nation and our industry must come to grips with the economic peril that will result if we fail to make the upfront investments in the large-scale energy infrastructure for tomorrow for these new resources.

“All the benefits of all this great supply that we have on both the oil and gas side will be at risk if we can’t get it connected to growing markets, and without the new pipeline infrastructures, we will see delay in the demand side and we will see a price spike.”

Armstrong said that Williams firmly believes that investment in infrastructure is necessary to keep the industry not only growing, but flourishing. The company is leading by example, and has dedicated a generous amount of money to pipeline growth. Armstrong said that, through Williams and the company’s MLP Williams Partners LP (NYSE: WPZ), the companies “expect to invest more than $26 billion through 2018 in projects designed to help the U.S. realize the promise of low-cost natural gas, and just natural gas itself but as well the natural gas derivatives, so liquids down to olefins.”

One of the company’s major infrastructure investments is the Bluegrass pipeline. The 1,100-mile natural gas liquids (NGLs) pipeline is a joint venture with Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP (NYSE: BWP) designed to connect “enduring low-cost supply with strong and growing markets.” The pipeline will begin at the Marcellus-Utica shale and reach to the northeast U.S. and the Gulf Coast.

Another project that reflects Williams’s commitment to infrastructure expansion is the Transco pipeline, which is the nation’s largest pipeline by volume.Since the start of the year, the pipeline has set three separate peak day records which are credited to expansions that were already online. The company is adding capacity at an average rate of 9% per year from 2010 to 2017. The pipeline has increased capacity by about 55% just over the last decade through 21 expansion projects, according to Armstrong. The total capacity by 2017 is expected to be at 15.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). Projects that began last year and carry through 2017 will have a price tag of $5 billion.

“The supply here in the Marcellus-Utica is undisputed and this is really a rich resource with impressive growth ramping up to 18 Bcf/d by 2020,” he said “Right now, today, I don’t think this is very impressive at all given some of the infrastructure issues that we think will open up by 2020, but we are still in the very earliest chapter of the Marcellus-Utica growth story.”

He expressed his opinion that there is still the possibility of great growth for the region. “You really can’t overestimate, at least in my perspective, the important role that natural gas liquids will play in the health of the basin from supporting the producer economics and the future development activity to large-scale volumes that will be in search of economic market outlets.”

While additional infrastructure is needed and important, it should be well thought out and planned so that it continues to be economic to parties on all fronts, Armstrong said.Forward thinking and planning will mean that the capital needed to build the infrastructure will continue to be readily available.

Thus far, the energy boom has led to job growth, economic growth and cleaner air, not just for the Marcellus-Utica region but for areas around the country. The U.S. has a better spot in energy security than ever before. Armstrong said that the U.S. is now the world’s No. 1 natural gas producer, and is now the world’s largest exporter of liquefied petroleum gas. Additionally, “the port of New Orleans has seen exports of petrochemical volumes triple over the last five years.”

Staying ahead of the game will keep the U.S. in the position it is in today, he said. Lack of action, however, could lead to price spikes and delays in meeting demand.

He ended his speech by saying, “certainly we should take great pride in how important the work that the folks in this room are doing. Energy infrastructure requires investment of a lot of capital; it requires foresight and fortitude and a tremendous amount of commitment to something.”

“Our country is built on solving complex problems. … I see the knowledge, the capabilities and certainly the courage to seize this opportunity.”