In its Q2 2026 earnings call, Kinder Morgan said rising LNG exports and electricity demand continue to create new pipeline opportunities across its U.S. network. The company is currently developing projects to serve more than 10 Bcf/d of potential gas-fired power demand and about 3 Bcf/d of LNG demand, while management expects to sanction significant additional projects during the second half of 2026. CEO Kim Dang said the company is “not seeing a slowdown in the opportunity set. If anything, we’re seeing increases,” adding that nearly $400 million of projects already have agreed commercial terms and could receive signed contracts within weeks. KMI’s sanctioned backlog stood at $9.6 billion, but Dang said it could rise above $10 billion as power-related projects move forward.
The three largest projects under construction or permitting remain on schedule. The 2.1-Bcf/d Mississippi Crossing pipeline would run nearly 208 miles from near Greenville, MS, to connections with Southern Natural Gas and Transco near Butler, AL, providing Southeast markets access to several producing basins; KMI now targets service as early as Q2 2028. South System Expansion 4 would add about 1.3 Bcf/d of capacity for Southeast utilities and power plants, with phases scheduled for Q4 2028 and Q4 2029. In Texas, the 219-mile, 2-Bcf/d Trident pipeline — now about 60% complete — will move gas from Katy to the Port Arthur industrial and LNG corridor, with its first phase due in Q1 2027 and its second in Q4 2028. Management said all three are “progressing on schedule and on budget,” although later acknowledged that growing demand for turbines and compression equipment is putting pressure on industry construction timelines.
The Q&A also highlighted the next wave of potential projects. Permian Link, which concluded an open-season June 11, would provide an additional 2.1 Bcf/d of Permian takeaway capacity north on Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL), connecting producers with storage in Oklahoma and emerging Texas power and data-center loads. (See map below). Management is discussing contracts and targeting a roughly 2030 start. Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s proposed Station 219 South expansion could move Southwest Marcellus and Utica gas through Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee toward Mississippi Crossing and the Southeast. President of Natural Gas Pipelines Sital Mody said KMI is “starting to see a power corridor form” and could upscale the initially proposed brownfield project if customer demand supports it. Outside natural gas, KMI expects to decide within the next month or two whether to proceed with Western Gateway, which would combine new and reversed pipelines to move Midwest and Gulf Coast refined products through Arizona into California and is targeting mid-2029 service.
Permian Link project map. Source: KMI
