Plains All American (PAA) aims to become a crude oil midstream pure play, but a motley assortment of NGL assets stands in the way. After selling its Canadian NGL business, the company signaled its plan to shop the remaining US NGL portfolio.
In June, Plains reached a deal to sell its entire Canadian NGL business to Keyera for ~$3.75B. The sale will add $3B to PAA’s balance sheet and provide it with ample dry powder to pursue other bolt-on acquisitions. Following the announcement, PAA executives said they intend to sell the remaining US NGL assets over the next several years, excluding select assets.
PAA’s US NGL portfolio is relatively modest, yet also widely dispersed (see map). The assets include the Shafter Lake LPG Terminal and San Pedro Butane Storage facility in California, Bumstead LPG Storage in Arizona, Tampa LPG in Florida, a 36% stake in White Cliffs Pipeline LLC, and a scattering of other terminals and facilities across the Lower 48.
The White Cliffs Pipeline stake would likely be the most most sought-after asset in the portfolio. However, its ownership structure entangles the NGL and crude lines under one LLC, making a divestiture unlikely. This structure would make it a considerable challenge for PAA to divest its NGL line while retaining the crude line that integrates well with its footprint. Both lines run from Platteville, CO to Cushing, OK. The NGL pipeline serves as a key Y-grade outlet from the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) and other Rockies basins. It connects to Southern Hills Pipeline, owned by Phillips 66 (PSX), and together provide Rockies shippers access to the Mont Belvieu hub.
White Cliffs has struggled post-pandemic to fill both its crude and NGL pipes. The NGL pipeline had average modeled throughput of ~60 Mb/d in 2Q25 and the crude line had average throughput of ~90 Mb/d, both below their respective capacities, according to East Daley Analytics’ Energy Data Studio. Financial data we track shows White Cliffs earnings have recovered after bottoming in 2021, though still remain below the pre-pandemic peak (see figure).
Despite its challenges, the White Cliffs crude line remains relevant. The pipeline steers volumes to PAA’s Cushing terminal and travels a complementary route to Saddlehorn Pipeline (PAA 40% interest). By contrast, the NGL line is isolated from PAA’s scattered NGL footprint and appears more important to PSX’s NGL wellhead-to-water strategy. White Cliffs converted one of its crude pipes to an NGL line in 2019, and DCP Midstream (later acquired by PSX) reserved 50 Mb/d of capacity until ~2030, allowing PSX to steer more NGL barrels onto its Southern Hills Pipeline. The arrangement effectively allows producers on PSX’s DJ G&P system to transport volumes directly to its Gulf Coast fractionators. It also pairs well with the company’s interests in the Wattenberg and Front Range pipelines, both substantial Y-grade egress routes out of the Rockies.
As for Plains’ remaining NGL assets, a buyer with an existing NGL footprint would be willing to pick them up for the right price. On PAA’s most recent earnings call, executives estimated the US NGL portfolio’s value at between $100-200MM. Monetizing the US NGL portfolio would free up cash that could be redeployed into other assets with greater potential for synergies. The company is clearly on the hunt, as reflected in PAA’s recent $1.57B investment in EPIC Crude. – Garret Streit and Gage Dwan Tickers: PAA, PSX.
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