On May 26, 2026, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, EIA, published a note on new natural gas pipelines. By its own Natural Gas Pipeline Projects Tracker, developers plan to bring "approximately 44.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of new pipeline capacity online in the United States in 2026 and 2027." The note's title gives its finding in short, "Most planned natural gas pipeline capacity additions in 2026 and 2027 originate in Texas."
How much is already being built
Of the capacity expected in those two years, approximately 70%, or 31.6 Bcf/d, "is already under construction." The note's title is about where that capacity originates. More than 66% of the expected capacity additions, or 29.7 Bcf/d, originate in Texas. Louisiana is second, with 19% of the expected additions, or 8.4 Bcf/d.
Out of the Permian Basin
The note says what the Texas projects are for. "The projects in Texas will provide additional takeaway capacity out of the Permian Basin ... supplying natural gas to LNG export terminals, as well as residential, power, and industrial users." Power is on that list, beside export terminals and homes.
The note then names some of the largest projects "currently under construction and projected to enter service by the end of this year." The dates in that list are given as expectations. One pipeline is "slated to enter service in the third quarter 2026," and of another the note says "The developer expects phase 1 of this project to begin flowing in the fourth quarter of 2026."
Each date in that list is an expectation. A power project that counts on one of these pipelines carries its schedule as a risk of its own.
Louisiana and Virginia
In Louisiana, the note expects one project to begin service in the second half of 2026 and another to come online by the end of 2027. Virginia comes next. "Virginia has the third most capacity additions over the next two years, with 1.6 Bcf/d expected to come online in 2027" through the expansion of an existing pipeline that runs "from Virginia to Alabama."
Sources
- U.S. Energy Information Administration. Most planned natural gas pipeline capacity additions in 2026 and 2027 originate in Texas (Today in Energy, in-brief analysis). 26 May 2026. energy agency