Which pipelines carry natural gas out of the Permian?

Permian gas leaves through about a dozen pipelines: east to the Texas Gulf Coast, south to the Mexican border, west toward Arizona and California, and since June 2026 to north Texas. EIA last put total takeaway at 18 Bcf/d in May 2022. Pipelines added since then total about 5.1 Bcf/d of operator-stated capacity (our sum), with Blackcomb's 2.5 Bcf/d next, expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Waha turned positive in June 2026 as two pipelines started upDaily, $/MMBtu. Data through 2026-11-06. Source: OilPriceAPI.

curl -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_KEY" \
  "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/past_year?by_code=NATURAL_GAS_WAHA&interval=daily"

Get an API key to pull this series

East to the Gulf Coast and north Texas

The newest and largest routes. Most were built for Gulf Coast industrial and LNG export demand (EIA); Hugh Brinson serves north Texas.

Pipeline	Operator	Capacity (Bcf/d)	Route	In service
Gulf Coast Express	Kinder Morgan	2.0, now ~2.59	Waha → Agua Dulce	Sep 2019; expansion Jun 23, 2026
Permian Highway	Kinder Morgan	2.1, now ~2.66	Waha → Katy	Jan 2021; expansion Dec 1, 2023
Whistler	WhiteWater	2.0	Waha → Agua Dulce	Jul 2021
Matterhorn Express	WhiteWater-led JV	2.5	Waha → Katy	Oct 2024
Oasis	Energy Transfer	~1.2 west to east	Waha → Katy	Legacy
Hugh Brinson, Phase I	Energy Transfer	1.5	Waha → Maypearl (south of Dallas–Fort Worth)	Jun 2026; full Phase I by Sep 1, 2026

South to the Mexican border

Pipeline	Operator	Capacity (Bcf/d)	Route	In service
Trans-Pecos	Energy Transfer (operator)	1.4	Waha → Presidio	Mar 2017
Comanche Trail	Energy Transfer (operator)	1.1	Waha → San Elizario	Jan 2017
Roadrunner	ONEOK	0.64 design	Coyanosa → San Elizario	Mar 2016 (Phase 1)

West and north

The older interstate systems. Their capacities cover whole systems that also carry gas from other basins, so they are not Permian-only exit figures.

Pipeline	Operator	Capacity (Bcf/d)	Route	In service
El Paso Natural Gas	Kinder Morgan	6.41 (whole system)	Permian, San Juan, Rockies, Anadarko → Arizona, California and five other states, northern Mexico	Legacy
Transwestern	Energy Transfer	2.1 (whole system)	Permian, San Juan, Anadarko supply	Legacy
Northern Natural Gas	BHE	1.7 (field area)	Permian → Upper Midwest	Legacy
NGPL	Kinder Morgan (operator)	8.40 (whole system)	Permian supply among others	Legacy

Planned

Pipeline	Operator	Capacity (Bcf/d)	Route	In service
Blackcomb	WhiteWater	2.5	Permian → Agua Dulce	Expected Q4 2026 (Targa 10-Q)
Desert Southwest expansion	Energy Transfer (Transwestern)	up to 2.3	Permian → Arizona, New Mexico, Texas	Expected Q4 2029
Hugh Brinson, Phase II	Energy Transfer	to 2.2 west to east	Waha → Maypearl	Planned
Saguaro Connector	ONEOK	—	Permian → Mexican border	Not yet built; FERC asked to extend the deadline to Feb 15, 2030

Targa's June 2026 quarterly filing no longer mentions the Apex pipeline, which EIA in 2024 listed as expected in 2026. Double E (1.6 Bcf/d, November 2021) carries New Mexico gas into the Waha area rather than out of the basin.

How capacity shows up in the price

Each large addition has lifted Waha, at least briefly:

Gulf Coast Express, September 2019. Waha averaged $1.51/MMBtu from 1 to 25 September, against $0.70 for the same days in August (EIA).
Permian Highway, January 2021. Waha traded 3¢ above Henry Hub the week it entered service (EIA).
Matterhorn Express, October 2024. Waha rose $1.44 in a week to $1.47, then fell to −$1.17 the following week when El Paso maintenance cut capacity (EIA).
Gulf Coast Express expansion and Hugh Brinson, June 2026. Waha settled above zero on 15 June for the first time since early February and has not been negative since (OilPriceAPI data, to 1 October).

The 2024 example is the pattern: new capacity helps, but maintenance on any one route can undo it within days. See why Waha gas prices go negative.

Using the data

NATURAL_GAS_WAHA shows the effect of each change in capacity; pair it with NATURAL_GAS_HENRY_HUB_SPOT_USD for the Waha basis only on a shared UTC as_of date. EIA Henry Hub spot can arrive several days after Waha.