Gulf Coast Express Pipeline

This article is part of the Global Fossil Infrastructure Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

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Gulf Coast Express Pipeline, also known as GCX, is an operating natural gas pipeline in Texas, USA. An additional capacity expansion is proposed.

Location

The pipeline runs from Coyanosa, Texas, USA to Agua Dulce, Texas, USA, and a proposed lateral extending to Midland, Texas, USA.

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Project details

• Operator:
• Owner: Gulf Coast Express Pipeline LLC (GCX)
• Parent company: Kinder Morgan [34%], DCP Midstream LP [25%], Arclight Capital Partners LLC [41%]
  • ArcLight Capital Partners LLC acquired 25% ownership from Targa Resources Corp. in May 2022
  • ArcLight Capital Partners LLC acquired Kinetic Holding's Inc's 16% equity interest in 2024
• Capacity: 1,980 million cubic feet per day
• Length: 497.5 mi
• Diameter: 36, 42 in
• Cost: US$1,750,000,000
• Status: Operating
• Start Year: 2019

Background

Kinder Morgan started construction on the Gulf Coast Express Pipeline Project (GCX Project) in May 2018. The approximately $1.75 billion GCX Project is designed to transport up to 1.98 Bcf/d of natural gas from the Permian Basin to the Agua Dulce, Texas area and is now fully subscribed under long-term, binding transportation agreements. The project is expected to be in service in October 2019, pending the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals. Shippers that have committed to the project include the following: DCP Midstream, Targa, Apache Corporation, Pioneer Natural Resources Company and XTO Energy, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil. KMTP also has committed volumes that are backstopped by a long-term purchase agreement that locks in the equivalent transport fee on the pipeline. Kinder Morgan will build, operate and own a 50 percent interest in the GCX Project, and subsidiaries/affiliates of DCP Midstream and Targa Resources will each hold a 25 percent equity interest in the project. In addition to transportation agreements, shipper Apache Corporation has an option to purchase up to a 15 percent equity stake in the project from Kinder Morgan.

The pipeline came online in September of 2019.

In February 2022, Targa Resources Corp. executed agreements to sell its subsidiary Targa GCX Pipeline to an undisclosed buyer for US$857 million.

In June 2024, Kinetic Holdings announced the completion of the sale of its "16% equity interest in the Gulf Coast Express pipeline to an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners LLC for $510 million in upfront cash and an additional $30 million deferred cash payment due upon a final investment decision on a capacity expansion project."

Expansion projects

Capacity Expansion

In April 2022, Kinder Morgan released a binding open season for an incremental 650 MMcf/d of capacity on the Permian Highway Pipeline and also noted a similar expansion would be planned for the Gulf Coast Express Pipeline. The expansion project "will expand compression of the pipeline, increasing capacity by 0.57 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) to 2.55 Bcf/d."

In May 2022, Kinder Morgan announced an open season for the expansion project, noting an incremental increase of 570 MMcf/d from compression expansions. The project was expected to be in operation by December 2023. The open season began 5 May 2022 and ended 6 June 2022. In March 2023, Kinetik Holdings talked down the possibility of the expansion during the company's fourth quarter earnings call. It stated that a new greenfield project out of the Permian Basin was more appealing to upstream operators. In July 2023, Kinder Morgan discussed renewed interest in a GCX expansion.

In January 2024, an article published in Yahoo!Finance announced that "Kinder Morgan is considering plans to expand its Gulf Coast Express pipeline in the near future" and that it aims to have increased capacity by "late '26, early '27." The same article states that Kinder Morgan's CFO, David Michaels, "said the scale of the expansion still needs to be determined."

In June 2024, Kinetic Holdings announced the completion of the sale of its "16% equity interest in the Gulf Coast Express pipeline to an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners LLC for $510 million in upfront cash and an additional $30 million deferred cash payment due upon a final investment decision on a capacity expansion project."

• Operator: Gulf Coast Express Pipeline LLC (GCX)
• Owner: Gulf Coast Express Pipeline LLC (GCX)
• Parent company: Kinder Morgan [34%], DCP Midstream LP [25%], Arclight Capital Partners LLC [41%]
  • ArcLight Capital Partners LLC acquired 25% ownership from Targa Resources Corp. in May 2022
  • ArcLight Capital Partners LLC acquired Kinetic Holding's Inc's 16% equity interest in 2024
• Capacity: 570 MMcf/d
• Length: 0 new kilometers (capacity expansion only)
• Status: Proposed
• Start year: 2024
• Cost:
• Financing:
• Associated infrastructure: