The Ongoing Development of Permian-to-Gulf Infrastructure
During the Shale Era, several midstream companies have seen the benefits of owning and operating the full gamut of infrastructure that brings Permian crude oil, natural gas and NGLs from wells in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico to the Gulf Coast. This increasingly popular “wellhead-to-water” strategy has allowed its practitioners to operate with extraordinary efficiency, collect fees from shippers each step of the way, and feed pipelines, fractionators, storage and export terminals along the value chain.
In this report, we discuss the Permian-to-Gulf networks owned by nine large midstream companies, eight of which are publicly owned — the ninth, WhiteWater Midstream, is privately held. Enterprise Products Partners, a pioneer in the well-to-water approach, is a case in point. The company is currently building three 300-MMcf/d gas processing plants in West Texas, as well as the 550-mile, 600-Mb/d Bahia Pipeline, which by the end of this year will start transporting Y-grade from both the Midland and Delaware basins to Enterprise’s NGL storage and fractionation assets in Mont Belvieu. There, the company is building Fractionator 14, a 150-Mb/d facility Enterprise expects will be able to process up to 195 Mb/d. Enterprise is also building the new Neches River Terminal in Beaumont, which will start exporting ethane in Q3 2025 and LPG in H1 2026.
Key takeaways from the report include:
- Eight publicly held companies offer a wide range of ‘well-to-water’ services across Texas
- Privately held WhiteWater Midstream — and a company-led JV — come close to doing the same
- Growth projects are driven largely by rising production of associated gas
- Gas processing plants and takeaway capacity for gas and NGLs are in the works
- Long list of existing and future projects are valued in the tens of billions of dollars
“Waltz Across Texas” is included in RBN Energy’s 2025 Drill Down report series, a suite of reports covering many of the key issues expected to impact the markets for crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Drill Down reports are part of RBN Backstage Pass™ premium resources that also include Blog Archive Access, Spotcheck Indicators, Market Fundamentals Webcasts, Get-Togethers and more. By subscribing to RBN’s Backstage Pass™ Premium Services, you plug into our network and get direct access to our premium resources.
