Rising natural gas demand sparks infrastructure boom! Kinder Morgan (KMI.US) bets $4.7 billion on two major pipeline projects.

U.S. pipeline operator Kinder Morgan (KMI.US) said on Wednesday that it has approved a total of $4.7 billion in investments across two large natural gas pipeline joint ventures. These investments will be funded by the company's proportionate shares, with the investment decisions driven by growing demand from power plants, data centers, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters. These projects have pushed Kinder Morgan's natural gas project backlog to a record level, underscoring industry-wide efforts to expand infrastructure to meet new demand. Kinder Morgan will invest approximately $3.1 billion in Southern Natural Gas's Southeast Connector project and $1.6 billion in the Permian Link project of Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL). The Southeast Connector project will transport up to 2.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas through approximately 470 miles (about 756 kilometers) of new pipeline to meet growing market demand in the southeastern United States. The Permian Link project is designed to transport natural gas from the Permian Basin near Pecos County, Texas, to NGPL's Midcontinent transmission system through approximately 434 miles (about 698 kilometers) of new pipeline, with a capacity of approximately 2.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). With the approval of these projects, Kinder Morgan's total project backlog has risen to $14.4 billion, including a record $13.2 billion in natural gas project backlog. Kinder Morgan said the Permian Link project will deliver natural gas to a power provider serving an investment-grade-rated hyperscale data center customer. Company executives said that in addition to this anchor hyperscale data center customer, the project has also attracted interest from other customers. Permian Link is expected to be placed in service in the third quarter of 2030, while Southeast Connector is expected to begin phased operations starting in the fourth quarter of 2030. Meanwhile, the company's earnings report released on Wednesday showed third-quarter revenue of $4.53 billion, above the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion; adjusted earnings per share came in at 35 cents, also exceeding the market expectation of 32 cents.