LNG Exports, Power Demand Fuel North American Midstream Backlogs

North American midstream companies say growing liquefied natural gas exports and higher power demand are driving large project backlogs and strong customer interest in new pipeline capacity. Operators are moving ahead with sanctioned builds and soliciting long-term contracts for future flows.

U.S. LNG exports climbed from about 0.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2016 to roughly 15.0 Bcf/d in 2025. U.S. domestic gas consumption was about 91.9 Bcf/d in 2025. Projects now under construction would increase U.S. export capacity from 18.7 Bcf/d to an estimated 36.8 Bcf/d by 2031, and developers signed roughly 5.2 Bcf/d of long-term export agreements last year.

Enbridge expanded its secured capital program from C$28 billion in first-quarter 2025 to C$40 billion in first-quarter 2026 and holds stakes in several LNG-linked pipeline projects, including Blackcomb, Traverse, Bay Runner, Rio Bravo and Eiger Express. TC Energy transports about 30% of North American gas destined for export and is building the Gillis Access project to move 1.5 Bcf/d from the Haynesville shale to Gulf Coast terminals. Kinder Morgan has won long-term contracts that would raise its LNG feedgas volumes from about 8 Bcf/d today to nearly 12 Bcf/d by the end of 2028, supported in part by the $1.8 billion, 2 Bcf/d Trident Intrastate Pipeline. Williams holds stakes in U.S. export facilities and is building associated pipeline capacity, including participation in the Driftwood Line 200 project.

Power-related demand is growing because of new data centers, coal-to-gas switching and broader electrification. Kinder Morgan reports that nearly 60% of its $10.1 billion backlog supports power generation and local distribution company demand, and about 90% of its unsanctioned opportunities are driven by power and LNG. Enbridge is pursuing more than 50 data center opportunities that could require up to 10 Bcf/d of pipeline capacity. TC Energy’s systems sit within 15 miles of about 60% of the roughly 350 U.S. data centers under development and the company projects 5–8 Bcf/d of additional power-driven demand across the Midwest corridor.

Recent regional open seasons showed demand outstripping available capacity. Some Midwest open seasons were oversubscribed by two to three times. DT Midstream reported customer interest beyond offered capacity for two expansion projects, expanded its LEAP Gathering System in the Haynesville to 2.1 Bcf/d with scalability toward 4 Bcf/d, and sanctioned the 537 million cubic feet per day Guardian Pipeline G3 expansion with 20-year utility contracts for Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Williams is providing on-site power for five data-center projects totaling 2.6 gigawatts under 10–13 year contracts and has about $9.6 billion of execution work supporting six data centers; the company is evaluating options to serve up to 6 GW in the future.

Some operators are investing in export or liquefaction facilities. Pembina is advancing the 0.4 Bcf/d Cedar LNG on Canada’s West Coast and Enbridge holds a stake in the 0.3 Bcf/d Woodfibre LNG. Other companies with significant gas assets include Targa Resources, MPLX, ONEOK and Energy Transfer, though some master limited partnerships do not disclose backlog figures.

Pipeline contracts commonly run 20 years or longer and use fee-based revenue models. Market data show the Alerian Midstream Energy Select Index yielded 4.8% as of May 29.