Why Permian Well Connections Could Brighten Enterprise Products' 2H25

Enterprise Products Partners LP EPD has a strong presence in the Permian Basin, the most prolific basin in the United States, as its customers are primarily large upstream and integrated oil and gas companies.

On its recent earnings call, the partnership stated that last year, it connected more than 1,000 new oil and gas wells, most likely primarily from the Permian, although this was not explicitly confirmed, to its pipelines and processing plants, and expects a similar number this year. However, most of these new connections are planned for the second half, which means the largest increase in activity and earnings from these wells is likely to come later in 2025.  

To explore this further, the Permian Basin, known for its extensive oil and natural gas reserves, attracts numerous major energy companies for exploration and production. Due to its low commodity production costs, the Permian generally experiences significant drilling and development activity. Since Enterprise Products’ midstream assets are connected to wells in the Permian, the expected increase in well connections will likely lead to higher volumes of oil and gas transported through its network in the second half of 2025. This, in turn, could generate additional cash flows for EPD.

Other Two Midstream Stocks With Permian Presence: KMI, ET

Like EPD, Kinder Morgan Inc. KMI and Energy Transfer ET are two other midstream players, having a strong Permian presence.

Having a vast network of natural gas pipelines, Kinder Morgan’s midstream assets are also connected to the Permian basin area of West Texas. Notably, the construction work on KMI’s Gulf Coast Express Pipeline expansion project is ongoing, likely to be operational by the mid of next year.

In the Permian, Energy Transfer’s diversified midstream business comprises activities related to gathering and processing. Increasing volumes in the Permian have consistently been aiding ET’s earnings. This reinforces that the Permian remains central to Energy Transfer’s growth strategy.

EPD’s Price Performance, Valuation, & Estimates

Units of EPD gained 18% over the past year, outpacing the 16.9% improvement of the composite stocks belonging to the industry.

One-Year Price Chart

From a valuation standpoint, EPD trades at a trailing 12-month enterprise value to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) of 10.07x. This is below the broader industry average of 11.07x.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPD’s 2025 earnings hasn’t been revised over the past seven days.

EPD stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).  You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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