Enbridge Launches 2 Bcfd West Texas Express Pipeline Open Season

Enbridge has launched a nonbinding open season for the proposed West Texas Express natural gas pipeline project.

The planned system would transport Permian basin gas supplies west from the Waha area to markets in and around El Paso, Texas.

The proposed pipeline, known as WTX, is expected to provide 2 bcfd of natural gas transportation capacity.

Enbridge is using the open season to identify customer requirements and measure market interest in the project.

Enbridge said the development responds to growing demand for reliable natural gas supplies.

That demand is coming from proposed power generation, utilities, generators, data centers and other industrial customers across west Texas and downstream markets.

The downstream markets identified by Enbridge include Mexico, New Mexico and Arizona.

The pipeline would therefore connect Permian basin supplies with customers across a broad area west of Waha, subject to the project advancing.

Current plans call for WTX to include more than 150 miles of new pipeline.

The proposed mainline would use 42 in. OD pipe, providing the infrastructure needed for the planned 2 bcfd transportation capacity.

The project could also include lateral pipelines serving Hudspeth County, Texas.

In addition, Enbridge is considering delivery points at the US Mexico border as part of the proposed system.

Those potential additions are not yet presented as final elements of the design.

Enbridge said the project configuration will be shaped by the needs that prospective customers identify during the open season.

WTX could also be designed to connect with existing pipeline infrastructure.

Any such connections would be based on customer requirements identified through the commercial process now under way, according to Enbridge.

Several major project details remain subject to the level and location of market interest.

Enbridge said final capacity, routing, receipt points, delivery points and overall system design will be informed by responses to the open season.

That process gives prospective customers an opportunity to express interest in transportation service on the proposed system. The open season is nonbinding, and Enbridge has established a specific deadline for submissions.

The open season is scheduled to close at 5 p.m. CDT on Sept. 25, 2026.

Until then, Enbridge will seek information that can guide decisions about the final commercial and physical configuration of WTX.

The schedule for bringing the pipeline into operation depends on several conditions.

Enbridge must secure sufficient commercial support for the project and obtain the approvals required to proceed with development.

If those conditions are met, Enbridge is targeting a fourth quarter 2029 in service date.

The timing places commercial support and regulatory approvals at the center of the proposed development schedule.

The project would move natural gas westward from the Waha area rather than establishing a route in another direction.

Its identified destinations center on El Paso and markets farther downstream in Mexico, New Mexico and Arizona.

Industrial demand is one component of the market Enbridge is seeking to serve.

The company specifically included data centers among the industrial customers associated with growing demand for reliable gas supplies across west Texas.

Utilities and generators also feature in the customer base described by Enbridge. The company linked the proposed pipeline to demand from these users as well as proposed power generation and markets beyond Texas.

The combination of a new 42 in. OD mainline, potential Hudspeth County laterals and possible border delivery points defines the project at its current stage.

However, the open season response will determine how those elements are reflected in the final design.

Enbridge separately agreed last week to acquire Tallgrass Energy LP’s crude oil business.

The transaction is valued at $2.55 billion in cash and was announced shortly before the West Texas Express open season.

For WTX, the immediate milestone is the Sept. 25, 2026, closing of the open season.

Market interest will then inform the pipeline’s final capacity, route, connections, receipt locations, delivery locations and system design.