Double E Pipeline Nears Expansion FID as Shipper Demand Surges

A major Permian Basin natural gas pipeline is attracting more shipper interest than expected as its proposed expansion moves closer to a final investment decision.

(P&GJ) — Summit Midstream has secured additional long-term transportation commitments on the Double E Pipeline and extended its open season through June 30, citing shipper interest that exceeds currently available expansion capacity.

The company announced two new firm transportation agreements totaling 150 million cubic feet per day, bringing open season commitments to 250 million cubic feet per day and increasing Double E's total contracted capacity to approximately 1.9 billion cubic feet per day. Summit said it also holds a firm option agreement that could add another 200 million cubic feet per day of contracted capacity later this year.

The commitments support Summit's planned Double E Compression Expansion project, which would increase pipeline capacity by roughly 50%, from approximately 1.6 billion cubic feet per day to 2.4 billion cubic feet per day. The company expects to reach a final investment decision (FID) by the end of summer 2026 and has already placed orders for gas turbine compressors to preserve its targeted late-2028 in-service date.

According to Summit, discussions with prospective shippers continue and interest currently exceeds the project's anticipated expansion capacity of 800 million cubic feet per day to 900 million cubic feet per day. The company said the remaining capacity will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to shippers executing binding precedent agreements.

"We are very pleased with the progress we are making on obtaining commercial commitments to support the Double E Compression Expansion project and remain on track to reach a project FID by the end of this summer," President, CEO and Chairman Heath Deneke said.

The company also received an affirmative FID notice tied to a previously announced 230 million cubic feet per day transportation agreement, supported by an associated gas processing plant expansion. Combined with the new commitments, that agreement has helped lift contracted volumes across the system.

Summit expects to file a Section 7(c) certificate application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission later this year as development work on the expansion continues.

Separately, the company announced a new crude oil gathering agreement in Divide County, North Dakota. The agreement includes a 40,000-acre dedication adjacent to Summit's existing Polar and Divide systems and is expected to support 15 new four-mile lateral well connections beginning in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Deneke said the Williston Basin agreement reflects increasing producer activity in areas where Summit's infrastructure footprint is positioned to support additional development. Including recent agreements announced over the past six months, the company said it has expanded its dedicated acreage position by more than 240,000 acres.

The Double E Pipeline serves natural gas production from the Delaware Basin and is jointly owned by Summit Midstream and affiliates of ExxonMobil.