UNITED STATES OF AMERICA —Energy Transfer LP has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Vaquero Midstream LLC in a transaction valued at $2.625 billion. The purchase consideration comprises $1.95 billion in cash alongside roughly 33.3 million newly issued common units of Energy Transfer. Subject to customary closing adjustments and regulatory approvals, the transaction is slated for completion in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Dallas-based Energy Transfer LP is a publicly traded master limited partnership that operates a major U.S. energy infrastructure portfolio, encompassing approximately 140,000 miles of pipelines across 44 states. Vaquero Midstream LLC is an independent midstream operator providing natural gas gathering, transportation, compression, and processing services focused in the Delaware Basin.
The acquisition strategically integrates Vaquero's gathering pipelines and Caymus Processing Complex into Energy Transfer's existing downstream distribution network. Located across Loving, Reeves, Ward, and Winkler counties in Texas, Vaquero's system includes 300 miles of pipelines and three natural gas processing trains providing 675 MMcf/d of processing capacity. The asset package also includes acreage supporting potential expansion up to 1.2 Bcf/d.
By securing key midstream assets in one of North America's lowest-cost production zones, Energy Transfer enhances its capacity to process and transport growing natural gas and NGL volumes. The assets come backed by fee-based, long-term contracts spanning roughly 100,000 dedicated acres with an average remaining customer contract tenure of ten years, providing long-term volume security and immediate distributable cash flow accretion.
This consolidation highlights ongoing deal activity within the Permian Basin midstream sector, where operators seek scale to optimize pipeline throughput and operational synergies. Midstream players benefit from downstream integration into fractionation, storage, and export terminals, while exploration and production companies gain reliable access to critical gathering and processing capacity.
