Energy Transfer (ET) has built one of the most extensive crude oil midstream footprints in the Permian Basin, transporting a significant share of barrels via a network of gathering systems, transmission lines and export docks. ET casts a wide net, delivering crude to refineries from the Gulf Coast to the Midwest, plus to domestic and international docks at Corpus Christi, Houston and Nederland. The company reports 1Q25 earnings after the markets close Tuesday (April 6).
ET operates ~5,000 miles of gathering pipeline in the Permian following its acquisition of Lotus Midstream and the Centurion Pipeline in 2023. Centurion is one of largest and most connected gathering systems in the region. Barrels can flow north to Cushing via the Centurion transmission line, deliver to Houston on ET’s Permian Express pipelines, or route to ET’s West Texas Gulf Pipeline in Colorado City. Centurion serves as a key connector for Permian barrels to reach major PADD 3 market hubs in Cushing, Houston, Nederland and Louisiana. 
The Permian Express system includes four pipelines with a combined capacity of ~640 Mb/d. When integrated with ET’s West Texas Gulf, Amdel, and PELA pipelines, the total takeaway capacity reaches ~1.8 MMb/d. Taken together, the pipelines give Permian barrels access to all major Gulf Coast refining and export markets. Throughput in 2024 averaged ~980 Mb/d. In addition, ET holds a 5% equity stake in the Wink to Webster Pipeline, which adds another ~1 MMb/d of Permian takeaway to Gulf Coast hubs.
ET manages a diverse portfolio of docks to facilitate crude movements to domestic and international markets. ET acquired an interest in NuStar Energy in spring 2024 via its ownership in Sunoco (SUN), gaining a strategic foothold in the Corpus Christi market. The NuStar dock primarily loads barges bound for domestic refiners in Louisiana, with average 2024 throughput of ~150 Mb/d. ET’s Houston Fuel Oil Terminal Co. (HFOTC) serves as a major import/export hub, exporting ~200 Mb/d and importing ~100 Mb/d in 2024.
See East Daley Analytics’ Crude Hub Model for more detailed asset data. ET is also among the top contenders to develop an offshore export port designed to service Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). Blue Marlin Offshore Port (BMOP) would repurpose existing Gulf Coast gas infrastructure and construct new connections to supply barrels from the Houston and Cushing markets. Energy Transfer has communicated that it expects up to 45% of its exports to be of Canadian origin via Keystone/Marketlink and Cushing markets, in addition to direct access to neat Bakken production.
The jury is still out whether BMOP will go forward, as the project is still in the permitting process for a deepwater port license. However, ET is a step ahead of the competition, having secured a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with TotalEnergies. – Kristine Oleszek Tickers: ET, SUN.
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