A consortium of operators that own the Whistler Pipeline LLP, which moves Permian Basin natural gas to the Gulf Coast, has launched another project designed to move up to 2.5 Bcf/d more supply for LNG exports and Mexico.
Enbridge Inc., MPLX LP and WhiteWater Midstream LLC, through the WPC joint venture (JV) that owns the Whistler system, have partnered with an affiliate of Targa Resources Corp. to construct the Blackcomb Pipeline.
Blackcomb, a 42-inch diameter system, would traverse 365 miles from West Texas to the Agua Dulce hub in South Texas, near Corpus Christi. Supply is to be sourced from “multiple upstream connections in the Permian,” the companies said.
The system could be in service by the second half of 2026, pending regulatory approvals.
“Blackcomb will provide much-needed incremental natural gas takeaway capacity for Permian shippers," WhiteWater CEO Christer Rundlof said.
West Texas natural gas prices have proved to be particularly weak because of a lack of takeaway, mostly keyed to associated gas from oil production. There also has been a spate of relatively minor but cumulatively disruptive maintenance events in the Permian, which has flipped prices into negative territory.
NGI’s Waha hub traded in a range from negative 51.0 cents to $1.40/MMBtu on Wednesday and averaged negative 22.0 cents. A year ago, the Permian benchmark averaged $2.080, NGI Daily Historical Data show. It had fallen as low as negative $4.595 this spring.
The final investment decision (FID) for Blackcomb was clinched after the partners said they secured “sufficient firm transportation agreements” with shippers that include Devon Energy Corp., Diamondback Energy Inc., Marathon Petroleum Corp. and Targa.
Blackcomb would pull supply from natural gas processing facilities in the Permian Midland sub-basin, as well as the Agua Blanca Pipeline LLC system in the Permian Delaware sub-basin. Agua Blanca is a JV between WhiteWater and MPLX.
WPC would own 70% of Blackcomb, with Targa owning 17.5% and MPLX with 12.5%. MPLX said its Blackcomb stake is incremental to its ownership in WPC. The pipeline would be constructed and operated by WhiteWater.
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In addition to Whistler, WPC has substantial stakes in other major Permian-to-Gulf Coast gas systems. It owns the Rio Bravo Pipeline, set for in-service in the second half of 2026. It would supply feed gas to NextDecade Corp.’s Rio Grande liquefied natural gas export terminal under construction in Brownsville, TX.
WPC also has a 70% stake in the Agua Dulce-Corpus Christi system, a 43-mile, 42-inch diameter intrastate pipe that services the Cheniere Energy Inc. Corpus Christi LNG facility.
In addition, WPC has a half-interest in the Waha Hub. WhiteWater’s stake in WPC is owned by I Squared Capital.
Analysts with Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH) said the Agua Dulce region in South Texas “will be in need of additional gas once Next Decade’s Rio Grande LNG and Cheniere’s Corpus trains 8 and 9 come online.
“On the gas macro front, this is a much awaited FID, not just for the Permian but for total U.S. supply,” the TPH analysts said. However, “with an in-service in the second half of 2026, we still estimate no incremental gas will flow from the Permian in the first half of 2026, resulting in tight supply/demand balances and weak in-basin pricing.”
