Kelcy Warren is not slowing down. Despite nearly three decades of acquisitions that have turned Energy Transfer into one of the country’s largest pipeline operators, the company’s co-founder and executive chairman says there is still room to grow, both at home and abroad, and he has no interest in pausing to admire what has already been built.
Looking Beyond U.S. Borders
Warren has said he wants Energy Transfer to expand further into North and South America, building on the domestic network the company has assembled since its founding in 1996. He has also pointed to LNG and petrochemicals as areas where Energy Transfer intends to grow its footprint in the years ahead.
That ambition comes even as the pool of obvious domestic acquisition targets shrinks. “There’s fewer and fewer, one by one we’re checking ’em off,” Kelcy Warren said. “But there’s still some really good assets out there that we’ve got our eyes on that we think fit us really, really well.”
Consolidation Continues at Home
The company’s most recent moves show that domestic growth has not stopped entirely. Energy Transfer has acquired Enable Midstream, Lotus Midstream and Crestwood Equity Partners over the past two years, a $7.1 billion deal that expanded its presence in the Permian Basin, Bakken Shale and Powder River Basin. Kelcy Warren described Crestwood’s assets as highly compatible with Energy Transfer’s existing system, though some capital construction is still needed to connect them fully.
Warren has been open about the fact that much of the company’s growth came from reacting to circumstances rather than executing a long standing blueprint. Even so, he continues to frame Energy Transfer’s future in ambitious terms. “We always try to make our machine more efficient,” he said. “If you’re a good pipeliner, you’ll never have the perfect system.” For a company built on that mindset, international expansion is simply the next test. Read this article for additional information.
Find more information about Kelcy Warren on https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/kelcy-l-warren/