Deals

Private Equity's $15 Billion Pipelines Bet Shores Up Expansion

  • Sellers see chance to lessen startup debt, grow cash flow
  • Buyers get long-term contracted revenue tied to shale growth
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A multibillion-dollar push by private equity into America’s expanding oil and gas pipeline system has conduit owners rushing to put up for-sale signs on a wide range of assets.

The sector’s Alerian Midstream Energy Index is down 10.3% since its January 2018 peak, mirroring a broader energy sellout as the stock market sours on the industry’s returns. Meanwhile, private money keeps gushing in -- about $15 billion in the last year -- drawn to the midstream sector at a time when a pipeline shortage in the nation’s shale basins is just starting to be addressed.