CORRESP 1 filename1.htm CORRESP

NORTHWEST PIPELINE LLC

295 Chipeta Way

Salt Lake City, Utah 84108

(801) 583-8800

November 5, 2018

VIA EDGAR

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Division of Corporation Finance

100 F Street, N.E.

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

  Re:

Northwest Pipeline LLC

    

Registration Statement on Form S-4 (File No. 333-228174)

Ladies and Gentlemen:

This letter is sent on behalf of Northwest Pipeline LLC (the “Company”), in connection with the above referenced Registration Statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) by the Company pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), relating to the Company’s proposed offer to exchange (the “Exchange Offer”) up to $250,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its new 4.000% Senior Notes due 2027 (the “Exchange Notes”) for a like principal amount of its outstanding 4.000% Senior Notes due 2027 (the “Outstanding Notes”).

The Company is registering the Exchange Offer pursuant to the Registration Statement in reliance on the position enunciated by the staff of the Commission (the “Staff”) in Exxon Capital Holdings Corp., SEC No-action letter available May 13, 1988, Morgan Stanley & Co., SEC No-action letter available June 5, 1991, and Shearman & Sterling, SEC No-action letter available July 2, 1993. The Company has not entered into any arrangement or understanding with any person who will receive Exchange Notes in the Exchange Offer to distribute those Exchange Notes following completion of the Exchange Offer and, to the best of the Company’s information and belief, each person participating in the Exchange Offer will be acquiring the Exchange Notes in its ordinary course of business and has no arrangement or understanding with any person to participate in the distribution of the Exchange Notes to be received in the Exchange Offer. In this regard, the Company will make each person participating in the Exchange Offer aware (through the Exchange Offer prospectus) that any person using the Exchange Offer to participate in a distribution of the Exchange Notes to be received in the Exchange Offer (1) cannot rely on the Staff’s position enunciated in the Exxon Capital SEC No-action letter or similar letters of the Staff and (2) must comply with registration and prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act in connection with any secondary resale transaction and be identified as an underwriter in the prospectus. The Company acknowledges that such a secondary resale transaction should be covered by an effective registration statement containing the selling securityholder information required by Item 507 of Regulation S-K.


The Company will include in the transmittal letter or similar documentation to be executed by an Exchange Offer offeree in order to participate in the Exchange Offer the following provision:

If the Exchange Offer offeree is a broker-dealer holding Outstanding Notes acquired for its own account as a result of market-making activities or other trading activities, it must acknowledge that it will deliver a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act in connection with any resale of the Exchange Notes received in respect of such Outstanding Notes pursuant to the Exchange Offer; however, by so acknowledging and by delivering a prospectus, a broker-dealer will not be deemed to admit that it is an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act.

The Company will also require that each participant in the Exchange Offer furnish a representation in the transmittal letter or similar documentation that neither such participant nor, to the actual knowledge of such participant, any other person receiving Exchange Notes from such participant, has any arrangement or understanding with any person to participate in the distribution of the Exchange Notes.

The Company will make broker-dealers participating in the Exchange Offer aware (through the Exchange Offer prospectus) that any broker-dealer that resells Exchange Notes that were received by it for its own account pursuant to the Exchange Offer and any broker or dealer that participates in a distribution of such Exchange Notes may be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act and must deliver a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act in connection with any resale of such Exchange Notes.

Please do not hesitate to contact Robyn E. Zolman of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP at (303) 298-5740 or the undersigned at (801) 583-8800 with any questions or comments concerning this letter.

[Signature page follows]

 

2


Kind regards,

/s/ Peter S. Burgess

Peter S. Burgess

Vice President and Treasurer

 

cc:

Robyn E. Zolman, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

 

 

 

[Northwest Pipeline Exxon Capital Letter]