Nov 6 (Reuters) -

U.S. pipeline operator Williams Companies ( WMB ) beat

third-quarter profit estimates on Wednesday by one cent, helped

by increased service revenues and higher flows of natural gas

liquids.

Higher operating costs and lower net realized product sales

from upstream operations weighed on earnings, leading to the

narrow beat.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration, earlier this

month, said that it expects gas consumption to rise from a

record 89.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2023 to 90.1

bcfd in 2024.

Additionally, like many of its peers, Williams is pinning

its hopes on the increased demand for artificial intelligence

boom-driven data center power to boost its natural gas sales.

"We executed a precedent agreement on another expansion to

the Transco Dalton Lateral driven by load growth from data

center demand and industrial re-shoring in the Atlanta area,"

Chief Executive Officer Alan Armstrong said.

The Transco, or Transcontinental Gas, pipeline transports

about 15% of the nation's natural gas.

Willams also raised its adjusted core profit range for the

year to between $7 billion and $7.15 billion, compared to

between $6.8 billion and $7.1 billion previously.

The company reported revenues of $2.65 billion in the

quarter, a 3.6% rise from the previous year, beating analysts'

average estimate of $2.52 billion.

The company's quarterly natgas transportation volumes from

its Transco pipeline were up 2.1% to 14.3 million dekatherms

from a year earlier.

However, quarterly crude oil transportation volumes were

down 18.7% to 109,000 barrels per day (mbpd), from a year

earlier.

The company posted an adjusted profit of 43 cents per share

for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with analysts' average

estimate of 42 cents per share, according to data compiled by

LSEG.