Pipelines and Patience

One seeks, naturally, a certain stability in these times. A quiet corner of the market where the currents run a little less fiercely. The pipelines, it seems, offer something of the sort. These are the intermediaries, the silent carriers, content with a fee for their service. They do not speculate on the price of the substance itself, merely ensure its passage. A humble existence, perhaps, but one with a peculiar appeal to those of us who prefer observation to participation.

The Americans, it appears, are extracting considerable quantities of oil and gas. A record 13.6 million barrels a day, they claim. And they are exporting it, naturally. To Europe, to Asia… wherever the demand arises. It is a busy world, and these pipelines are, if nothing else, efficient. One wonders, though, if all this activity truly alters the grand scheme of things, or if it is merely a rearrangement of shadows.

Enterprise Products Partners (EPD 0.34%) owns a vast network of these conduits, over 50,000 miles of them, stretching across the country. They are, by all accounts, a significant player. They facilitate the flow, they process the volume, and they anticipate further growth, adding capacity for another 900 million cubic feet of gas by 2026. It is a practical ambition, one grounded in the realities of supply and demand. Though, one cannot help but wonder if even such a substantial undertaking will truly satisfy the ever-present appetite of the market.

They operate, it must be noted, as a master limited partnership, a structure with its own peculiarities. A tax treatment that requires a certain… understanding. Still, they have managed to distribute a dividend for 27 consecutive years. A steady, reliable return. 6.6% currently. It is a comforting statistic, a small island of predictability in a sea of uncertainty. One hopes, for their investors’ sake, that it remains so.

Kinder Morgan (KMI +0.90%) is another of these giants, responsible for approximately 40% of all natural gas transported in the United States. Over 66,000 miles of pipeline, connecting the various basins to the centers of consumption. They serve the Permian, the Eagle Ford, the Haynesville, the Marcellus… a comprehensive network, built over years of investment and expansion. It is an impressive feat of engineering, though one cannot help but feel a certain melancholy when contemplating the sheer scale of it all.

They are also, it seems, benefiting from the demand for data centers. Nearly half of their $10 billion project backlog is tied to power requirements, driven by the insatiable hunger of artificial intelligence. A curious connection, isn’t it? The ancient energy of gas fueling the ephemeral world of data. It is a testament to the strange and unpredictable currents of modern life.

Enterprise Products Partners and Kinder Morgan, then, offer a certain degree of stability, a steady income stream in a volatile world. They are not glamorous investments, nor are they likely to yield spectacular returns. But they are, perhaps, a sensible choice for those of us who prefer quiet contemplation to breathless speculation. The pipelines will continue to flow, regardless of our fortunes. And life, as always, will go on, with its quiet disappointments and fleeting moments of grace.

2026-02-06 05:12

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