---
title: "Kinder Morgan's Southeast Connector just got bigger: 20 shippers, 48-inch pipe, 3.7 Bcf/d in sight"
description: "Two weeks after a $3.1 billion FID sized the pipe at 2.6 Bcf/d, Kinder's bulletin board shows another 1.1 Bcf/d of shipper awards and 20 takers. The land fight along the 150-mile Tennessee route has not started yet; the commercial demand already beat the plan."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Power"
published: 2026-11-06T19:09:15.064Z
modified: 2026-11-06T19:09:15.064Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/kinder-morgan-s-southeast-connector-just-got-bigger-20-shippers-48-inch-pipe-3-7-bcf-d-in-sight
language: en
keywords: "Kinder Morgan, Pipelines, Natural Gas, Data Centers, Energy Infrastructure"
---

# Kinder Morgan's Southeast Connector just got bigger: 20 shippers, 48-inch pipe, 3.7 Bcf/d in sight

> Two weeks after a $3.1 billion FID sized the pipe at 2.6 Bcf/d, Kinder's bulletin board shows another 1.1 Bcf/d of shipper awards and 20 takers. The land fight along the 150-mile Tennessee route has not started yet; the commercial demand already beat the plan.

[Kinder Morgan](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/kinder-morgan)'s Southeast Connector was sold to investors on October 21 as a $3.1 billion, 2.6 Bcf/d pipe [1]. Two weeks later, the commercial side is outrunning the plan. [The company's electronic bulletin board shows shipper awards for an additional 1.1 Bcf/d](https://marcellusdrilling.com/2026/11/southeast-connector-update-20-shippers-48-inch-pipe-room-to-grow/), which would lift the project toward 3.7 Bcf/d, and Natural Gas Intelligence counts 1.12 million Dth/d of firm capacity awarded to 20 bidders [1]. That is a 42% jump in contracted size in a fortnight, before any formal upsizing [1].

## A pipe bigger than almost anything on the map

The pipe itself is growing with the bookings: it will be a 48-inch line, larger than the 42-inch ceiling most interstate gas pipes reach, and Kinder plans an Extension to hand gas off to Transco and other pipelines in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia [1]. The route through Tennessee runs about 150 miles from Sumner County, northeast of Nashville, to Marion County, west of Chattanooga, with a late-2030 in-service target [7].

Who pays tells you who believes it. The 20 shippers signed firm capacity on 20-year take-or-pay contracts, [the structure Kinder used on the Southeast Connector and Permian Link joint ventures](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4655707-kinder-morgan-outlines-14_4b-backlog-as-southeast-connector-targets-2_6-bcf-d-and-permian), meaning customers pay for reserved capacity whether or not they use it [8].

Kalkine notes the same risk shift in its read of the quarter: record results, several pipeline FIDs and a year expected to finish ahead of budget [5]. The demand behind the bookings is LNG exports, electricity demand and industrial expansion, with data centers the fastest-moving piece; [nearly 200 pipeline projects totaling more than 17,000 miles are underway nationally](https://www.wknofm.org/news/2026-10-29/kinder-morgan-plans-150-mile-methane-gas-pipeline-through-tennessee), and TVA alone may build a dozen gas plants by 2031 [7].

## Spending ahead of the cash

The money is moving in the same direction. [Kinder's capital spending hit $1.045 billion in the September quarter](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001506307), up 32% from a year earlier and the fourth straight quarterly increase, while operating cash flow of $1.59 billion has not kept the same pace [9]. [Record backlog of $14.4 billion in gas projects](https://theinference.org/article/kinder-morgan-s-backlog-jumped-half-in-one-quarter-to-a-record-14-4-billion), backed by 20-year contracts, is the reason management is willing to spend ahead of cash [8].

*Chart: **Kinder Morgan is spending ahead of its cash flow to build the backlog** Column chart over eight quarters (Q4 2024 through Q3 2026) of Kinder Morgan's operating cash flow and capital spending in USD billions, showing capex climbing to a period-high $1.045 billion in Q3 2026 while operating cash flow stays between $1.2 billion and $2.0 billion.*

*Quarterly operating cash flow and capital spending, $ billions, Q4 2024 through Q3 2026. Source: Kinder Morgan SEC filings (company_series). [9]*

## The risk sits elsewhere

Landowners in ten Tennessee counties have already received survey notices, and the Sierra Club's warning is that a 48-inch pipe carries a blast zone that could run almost half a mile, in a state with no setback rule [7]. Kinder says the project will include 24/7 monitoring, integrity testing and corrosion protection [7].

The market is not yet convinced. KMI fell 4.22% to $30.19 on November 5 [4], and after the close CFO David Michels [signed an 8-K announcing an updated investor presentation](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1506307/000150630726000136/0001506307-26-000136-index.htm), posted by 6:00 a.m. Central on November 6 [2] [3]. The presentation confirms the 4Q deck is live [6]. The tell for the stock: whether the updated deck shows more of that $14.4 billion backlog coming from this one pipe [6].

More detail on the route and the land fight in our November 1 story, ["Kinder Morgan's $3.1B Southeast Connector runs through 10 Tennessee counties, and the land fight starts now."](https://theinference.org/article/kinder-morgan-s-3-1b-southeast-connector-runs-through-10-tennessee-counties-and-the-land-fight-starts-now)

## Takeaway

Two weeks after a $3.1B FID sized the Southeast Connector at 2.6 Bcf/d, shipper awards already point toward 3.7 Bcf/d from 20 takers on 20-year contracts. The pipe is now 48-inch. Kinder is spending ahead of its cash flow to build it, and the land fight in Tennessee has not started.

## Sources

1. [Marcellus Drilling News, Southeast Connector Update: 20 Shippers, 48-Inch Pipe, Room to Grow, 5 November 2026](https://marcellusdrilling.com/2026/11/southeast-connector-update-20-shippers-48-inch-pipe-room-to-grow/)
2. [SEC EDGAR, Kinder Morgan Inc. Form 8-K, Item 7.01, filed 6 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1506307/000150630726000136/0001506307-26-000136-index.htm)
3. [TradingView, Kinder Morgan to Post Updated Investor Presentation November 6, 5 November 2026](https://www.tradingview.com/news/tradingview:63610e9561bf1:0-kinder-morgan-to-post-updated-investor-presentation-november-6/)
4. [Yahoo Finance, Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI) quote page, 5-6 November 2026](https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/quote/KMI/news/)
5. [Kalkine Media, What Does Kinder Morgan's (NYSE:KMI) Growing Pipeline Backlog Signal?, 5 November 2026](https://kalkinemedia.com/us/stocks/energy/what-does-kinder-morgans-nysekmi-growing-pipeline-backlog-signal)
6. [Kinder Morgan Investor Relations, Events & Presentations, 4Q 2026 Investor Presentation, 6 November 2026](https://ir.kindermorgan.com/presentations-webcasts)
7. [WPLN News via WKNO FM, Kinder Morgan plans 150-mile methane gas pipeline through Tennessee, 29 October 2026](https://www.wknofm.org/news/2026-10-29/kinder-morgan-plans-150-mile-methane-gas-pipeline-through-tennessee)
8. [Seeking Alpha, Kinder Morgan outlines $14.4B backlog as Southeast Connector targets 2.6 Bcf/d, 22 October 2026](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4655707-kinder-morgan-outlines-14_4b-backlog-as-southeast-connector-targets-2_6-bcf-d-and-permian)
9. [Kinder Morgan, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 6 November 2026 (company_series)](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001506307)


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Kinder Morgan's Southeast Connector just got bigger: 20 shippers, 48-inch pipe, 3.7 Bcf/d in sight — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/kinder-morgan-s-southeast-connector-just-got-bigger-20-shippers-48-inch-pipe-3-7-bcf-d-in-sight