US midstream firms step up gas pipe plans ahead of expected demand surge

Midstream companies have stepped up natural gas pipeline projects in 2026 to connect production to an expected surge in demand from LNG terminals, power generators and data centers. Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, has tracked 46.5 billion cubic feet/day of proposed pipeline projects announced so far in 2026. About 20 Bcf/d of this year’s projects originate in Texas. Announcements have ranged from long-haul Permian Basin egress pipelines to links between Texas and Louisiana’s Gillis hub and laterals to individual data center campuses.

The largest of the Permian projects was the Solitude System, two pipelines from the Permian to the Katy Hub near Houston with a combined capacity of 4.5 Bcf/d, due in service over 2029-30. A WhiteWater Midstream LLC-led consortium reached a final investment decision on Solitude in August.

The FID suggested strong confidence in Permian production growth, considering that two greenfield egress pipelines started flowing gas in 2026, and two others that reached FID in 2025 are due to enter service in 2028-29.

“The Permian is the basin that keeps giving from a volume standpoint, and it’s always paid to take the over in terms of gas pipeline productivity and volume outlooks,” Mizuho Securities USA analyst Gabriel Moreen said in an interview with Platts.

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