While some of the recent pipeline announcements made headlines (e.g., the 2B project for the Permian), a less noticed announcement has the potential to be just as impactful – Kinder Morgan’s second open-season notice for its proposed Western Gateway Pipeline. The “second” part of the title indicates that Kinder Morgan will hold another binding open season for shippers who wish to secure transportation on the proposed pipeline.
A very common commercial action, but the magnitude of the proposed pipeline limits the number of players
It seems unlikely that many shippers will miss this opportunity. What at first glance looks like a typical open-season notice has all the makings of something bigger than just a simple commercial pipeline project.
Kinder Morgan and Phillips 66 have announced a second binding open season for the Western Gateway Pipeline after receiving significant interest in the first round of bids in late 2025. The second round will run until March 31, 2026, and is intended to assign available capacity to interested parties.
In addition to expanding the number of destinations available to customers using the pipeline, Kinder Morgan has enabled access to the Los Angeles market by agreeing to support a joint tariff for use of the existing SFPP line from Watson to Colton, California, which will be reversed. Additionally, the company has increased the number of possible origins of refined products that can be transported via the pipeline, thereby increasing the options for refiners located along the Midcontinent, Texas, and Gulf Coast regions.
On the surface, this appears to be simply a normal capacity-marketing notice. However, the fact that there were enough bidders to require a second open season clearly indicates that there is a great deal of interest in the Western Gateway corridor for the movement of refined products and that the significance of the route is becoming increasingly important to the movement of those products to western markets.
A closer review of the proposal clearly indicates why shippers are so interested
Western Gateway is approximately 1,300 miles in length and would provide a new-build connection from Borger, Texas, to Phoenix with the existing Kinder Morgan SFPP lines that would reverse direction and carry products west into California.
Possible sources of supply include:
- Refineries in the Midwest and their associated reversed Gold Pipeline
- Volumes from the Texas Gulf Coast originating in Houston and Port Arthur/Beaumont
- The existing SFPP and CALNEV systems provide access into Phoenix, Las Vegas, and the Los Angeles market.
For California, facing refinery closures and a decrease in in-state refining capacity, the project provides a potential source of new supply. For Arizona, it provides an alternative to its current suppliers as demand for refined products increases in that state. For refiners in the Midwest and Texas, it provides a new source of supply to high-demand western markets.
The large number of shippers who committed to the project in the first open season confirms that shippers believe the project is economically viable.
The marketing process, and what it says about the project’s potential
Following the close of the second open season, Kinder Morgan intends to make the Western Gateway Pipeline and the SFPP East Line jointly owned with Phillips 66.
The company is planning to complete the project by 2029, making it one of the most critical additions to the refined-products infrastructure expected in the coming decade.
As Kinder Morgan continues to pursue its marketing efforts, the success of the second open season demonstrates that the Western Gateway project is gaining commercial traction. As the level of commitment grows and the details of the pipeline system continue to advance, the project is raising a host of larger questions regarding how the western fuel supply, refinery transitions, and Midcontinent logistics may develop over the course of the next few years.
