Basis of Presentation (Notes)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2014

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

BASIS OF PRESENTATION

Northwest Pipeline LLC (Northwest) is owned, through Williams Partners Operating LLC (WPO), by Williams Partners L.P. (WPZ), a publicly traded Delaware limited partnership, which is consolidated by The Williams Companies, Inc. (Williams). At June 30, 2014, Williams holds an approximate 66 percent interest in WPZ, comprised of an approximate 64 percent limited partner interest and all of WPZ’s 2 percent general partner interest.

In this report, Northwest is at times referred to in the first person as “we,” “us,” or “our.”

General

The accompanying interim financial statements do not include all the notes in our annual financial statements, and therefore, should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto in our 2013 Annual Report on Form 10-K. The accompanying unaudited financial statements include all adjustments both normal recurring and others which, in the opinion of our management, are necessary to present fairly our interim financial statements.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Accounting Standards Issued But Not Yet Adopted

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update 2014-09 establishing Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 606, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers" (ASC 606). ASC 606 establishes a comprehensive new revenue recognition model designed to depict the transfer of goods or services to a customer in an amount that reflects the consideration the entity expects to be entitled to receive in exchange for those goods or services and requires significantly enhanced revenue disclosures. The standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016 and interim periods within the reporting period. Accordingly, Northwest will adopt this standard in the first quarter of 2017. ASC 606 allows either full retrospective or modified retrospective transition and early adoption is not permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact of this new standard on our financial statements.