The two largest pipeline operators in the U.S. are poised to benefit from the data center boom as rising natural gas demand requires billions of dollar of infrastructure investment, according to Goldman Sachs. Surging electricity consumption from data centers could increase natural gas demand by 3.3 billion cubic feet per day by 2030, about a 10% increase over the the 35 bc/d the U.S. currently consumes for electric power generation, according to Goldman forecasts.
wmb The pipeline operators could see 2% earnings upside over Goldman's current estimates through 2027, as they are well positioned in terms of scale and geography to capture "a meaningful percentage of our new pipeline capacity addition estimate." Kinder Morgan has a 40% share of natural gas pipelines in the U.S. and a large position in Texas, which is expected to be a data center hot spot, according to Goldman.