ONEOK’s 1Q 2026 earnings call emphasized a broad-based infrastructure buildout tied to growing U.S. natural gas, NGL, LNG export and refined products demand, with management repeatedly stressing that “infrastructure, not supply, is the constraint.” The company sees durable long-term demand from LNG exports, petrochemical markets, power generation and data-center growth, particularly in Texas and Oklahoma.
A major theme was accelerating processing and takeaway expansion in the Permian Basin. ONEOK relocated its 150 MMcf/d Shadowfax gas processing plant from North Texas to the Midland Basin during the quarter and expects volumes to ramp steadily as producer activity remains strong. The company is also expanding Delaware Basin processing capacity by another 110 MMcf/d this year, while the 300 MMcf/d Bighorn plant remains on track for mid-2027 startup. As we have often noted in our NATGAS Permian report, ONEOK said it anticipates that the Waha-to-Katy gas price differentials should ease as new pipeline egress capacity comes online later this year.
In the Powder River Basin, ONEOK is constructing the 60 MMcf/d Cutter plant, which management expects to fill quickly given already-drilled wells and anticipated JV activity. As shown in the slide below, Transportation and Fractionation (T&F) from the Rockies region is about $0.28/gal, compared to about $0.09 from the Permian. Its Denver refined products pipeline expansion will add 35 Mb/d of capacity this year. Meanwhile, Phase 1 of the Medford NGL fractionator will add 100 Mb/d of Mid-Continent fractionation capacity in 4Q 2026 with another 100 Mb/d scheduled for 1Q 2027.
