2026-10-08
- On 6 October 2026 Energy Transfer announced an agreement to acquire Vaquero Midstream for about $2.625 billion.
- Consideration is $1.95 billion in cash and about 33.3 million newly issued Energy Transfer common units.
- The Caymus Processing Complex has three processing trains and about 675 MMcf/d of current capacity, with acreage to support two more trains that could raise total capacity to about 1.2 Bcf/d.
- The deal includes a pipeline network of about 300 miles and about 100,000 dedicated acres, with long-term fee-based contracts averaging about 10 years of remaining life.
- Closing is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval and customary conditions.
US midstream company Energy Transfer LP announced on 6 October 2026 that it will acquire Vaquero Midstream LLC, a natural gas gathering and processing business in the Delaware Basin, for about $2.625 billion. The company described the deal as a bolt-on transaction.
Consideration is $1.95 billion in cash and about 33.3 million newly issued Energy Transfer common units. The assets include a pipeline network of about 300 miles and the Caymus Processing Complex, which has three processing trains.
Energy Transfer said it expects the transaction to be immediately accretive to Distributable Cash Flow (DCF) per common unit. Closing is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Vaquero’s assets consist of a pipeline network of about 300 miles across Loving, Reeves, Ward and Winkler counties in Texas, and the Caymus Processing Complex at Coyanosa in Pecos County. The complex is near Waha and has three processing trains. The pipeline network includes wellhead gathering and intrabasin transportation pipelines.
Current processing capacity is about 675 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day). Vaquero owns acreage to support two more trains, and adding them could raise total capacity to about 1.2 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day).
The business is backed by about 100,000 dedicated acres and long-term fee-based firm contracts with an average remaining life of about 10 years. Energy Transfer said the Vaquero assets are interconnected with its downstream natural gas and NGL (Natural Gas Liquids) infrastructure, which could create added revenue from pipeline transportation, fractionation, terminalling and export services. The dollar value of synergies was not disclosed.
Advisors on the Energy Transfer side were J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (financial) and Sidley Austin LLP (legal), and on the Vaquero side Houlihan Lokey (financial) and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP (legal).
The transaction value is about $2.625 billion, composed of $1.95 billion in cash and about 33.3 million newly issued Energy Transfer common units. The pipeline network is about 300 miles.
The Caymus Processing Complex has three trains and current capacity of about 675 MMcf/d. There is acreage for two additional trains, and upon completion total capacity could rise to about 1.2 Bcf/d, which is roughly 1.8 times the current capacity.
Dedicated acreage is about 100,000 acres, and the long-term fee-based contracts have an average remaining life of about 10 years. The size of synergies, the leverage impact and the EBITDA multiple were not disclosed. Closing is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Timeline
- 6 October 2026: Energy Transfer announced the agreement to acquire Vaquero Midstream.
- Fourth quarter 2026: Closing is expected once regulatory approval and customary closing conditions are satisfied.
Note
- MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day): a unit for gas processing and transport capacity, expressing daily gas volume in millions of cubic feet. 1,000 MMcf/d equals 1 Bcf/d.