In one of the biggest deals involving Permian Basin pipeline infrastructure, Fort Worth-based Brazos Midstream has sold its natural gas gathering and processing assets for $4.4 billion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tulsa-based ONEOK announced Monday it will acquire Brazos Midstream\u2019s Permian Midland Basin assets, significantly expanding its gas infrastructure footprint in one of the country\u2019s largest natural gas producing regions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The acquisition comes as pipeline operators in the U.S. are benefiting from increased oil and gas output in the Permian Basin, alongside rising natural gas demand amid record liquified natural gas exports.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Brazos Midstream assets include approximately 700 miles of natural gas gathering infrastructure. Following the completion of Brazos Midstream\u2019s Cassidy II processing plant, expected in the third quarter of 2027, the assets will provide 1.2 billion cubic feet per day of processing capacity across seven core Midland Basin counties.<\/p>\n
The Brazos Midstream assets will add to ONEOK\u2019s existing Permian Basin platform, which is currently supported by 14 active drilling rigs from leading Permian producers including ExxonMobil, Diamondback Energy and Fort Worth\u2019s Double Eagle.<\/p>\n
Rey Trevi\u00f1o, director of operations at Pecos Country Energy in Fort Worth, said the deal shows the importance of infrastructure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s exciting for the Permian Basin and it\u2019s exciting for Fort Worth,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ONEOK acquisition follows a $1.6 billion transaction in June that saw Houston-based Western Midstream Partners acquire Brazos Midstream\u2019s Delaware Basin pipelines.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The natural gas market has become important both in terms of exports and domestic use, according to Ray Perryman, president and CEO of The Perryman Report, an economic newsletter focused on Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Much of the natural gas from the pipelines will be headed to the Gulf Coast, where liquified natural gas shipments have grown from near zero in 2016 to 569.3 billion cubic feet in December 2025, according to Perryman. Exports of liquefied natural gas have become critical to Europe since the invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent halt to supplies from Russia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the U.S., natural gas is finding a ready market from the growing number of data centers needing energy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rapid expansion of energy-intensive AI data centers is also spurring demand for domestic use to generate electricity,\u201d Perryman said in a newsletter focusing on natural gas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natural gas production in the U.S. reached a record high in 2025, up by 5.3 billion cubic feet per day to average 118.5 billion cubic feet per day, according<\/a> to the Energy Information Administration. The Permian Basin was responsible for about 23% of that natural gas and is the fastest-growing natural gas producing region in the country, according to the Energy Information Administration.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brazos Midstream was formed in 2014 with many former leaders from EnLink Midstream, a major midstream energy services company that was acquired by ONEOK in January 2025 in two transactions valued at $7.6 billion.\u00a0<\/p>\n The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearance.<\/p>\n Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n