Allstream Insiders Summary
Summit Midstream Corporation has increased its total 2026 capital-spending guidance, including investments in Double E, to between $100 million and $120 million as it adds Williston Basin well connections and advances new firm transportation projects on the Double E Pipeline. The previous company guidance ranged from $85 million to $105 million.
The largest potential project in the update is a proposed mainline compression expansion on Double E, Summit’s 135-mile interstate natural gas pipeline connecting Delaware Basin receipt points with delivery points around the Waha Hub in Texas. The project could increase pipeline capacity by approximately 50%, from 1.6 billion cubic feet per day to approximately 2.4 billion cubic feet per day.
Double E has placed a purchase order to acquire long-lead gas turbine compressor units. Summit said it expects to be in a position to make a final investment decision before the pipeline’s extended open season concludes at the end of August 2026. The project remains subject to that investment decision and regulatory approvals, with service targeted by the end of 2028.
Summit Midstream Project Tracker
| Project or program | Company-reported scope | Current status | Target schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double E Mainline Compression Expansion | Increase pipeline capacity from approximately 1.6 billion to 2.4 billion cubic feet per day | Open season extended through August; purchase order placed for long-lead gas turbine compressors; final investment decision pending | Summit expects to be in a position to make an investment decision before the end of the open season; service targeted by year-end 2028 |
| Double E open-season commitments | Three long-term agreements totaling 250 million cubic feet per day; separate firm option for another 200 million cubic feet per day | 250 million cubic feet per day is binding; 200 million cubic feet per day remains an option | Supports commercial development of the compression expansion |
| Dude Plant Train II connection | 100 million cubic feet per day of firm transportation tied to the Lea County, New Mexico, processing expansion | Processing-project investment decision received | Service expected in the fourth quarter of 2026 |
| Eddy County plant connection | New lateral supporting 100 million cubic feet per day of firm transportation from an operating processing plant | Precedent agreement executed | Lateral expected in service in the first quarter of 2027 |
| Additional Double E transportation contract | 210 million cubic feet per day, including new delivery access | Long-term take-or-pay agreement executed | 80 million cubic feet per day expected in the fourth quarter of 2026; 130 million cubic feet per day in the second half of 2028 |
| Williston Basin connections | Approximately 30 additional or accelerated 2026 well connections | Development and gathering connections advancing | Connections expected primarily in the fourth quarter of 2026 |
| Divide County gathering agreement | Approximately 40,000 dedicated acres and 15 planned horizontal wells, each with an approximately four-mile lateral | Crude gathering agreement executed | Connections expected by year-end 2026 |
Why Did Summit Increase Its 2026 Capital Plan?
Summit said its revised $100 million–$120 million capital plan reflects 30 additional Williston Basin wells and incremental Double E spending tied to transportation agreements executed in 2026. Some of the Williston wells were newly added to the program, while others were accelerated from 2027.
The company spent approximately $25 million during the second quarter, including $4.1 million of maintenance capital. The spending was primarily directed to pad connections in the Rockies and Mid-Con segments.
For the first six months of 2026, Summit reported $44.3 million of cash capital expenditures on its consolidated systems. That amount included approximately:
- $28 million in the Rockies segment
- $14.1 million in the Mid-Con segment
- $763,000 in the Piceance segment
- $1.4 million in Corporate and Other
Those figures exclude Double E because Summit accounts for the pipeline as an equity-method investment. Summit separately invested approximately $6.5 million in Double E during the first half of 2026.
What Is Included in the Double E Compression Expansion?
The proposed Double E project is a compression-led expansion rather than a newly announced long-haul pipeline. Summit’s SEC filing describes Double E as a 135-mile, federally regulated interstate pipeline with current capacity of approximately 1.6 billion cubic feet per day.
Adding mainline compression could raise that capacity to approximately 2.4 billion cubic feet per day. Summit has placed an advance purchase order for gas turbine compressors to protect the long-lead equipment schedule and maintain the targeted end-of-2028 service date.
Summit expects Double E to file a Natural Gas Act Section 7(c) certificate application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission later in 2026. The company had not reached a final investment decision on the mainline compression expansion as of the August 10 quarterly update.
The commercial position has continued to develop. Double E executed three long-term firm transportation agreements totaling 250 million cubic feet per day through the open season and entered into a firm option for an additional 200 million cubic feet per day. The option should not be counted as binding transportation capacity unless the shipper exercises it.
Including an affirmative investment notice associated with a previously announced 230-million-cubic-foot-per-day processing-plant project, Summit said Double E’s contracted firm capacity had increased to approximately 1.9 billion cubic feet per day.
Which Double E Connections Are Already Advancing?
Several transportation and connection projects are moving forward separately from the proposed mainline compression expansion. These commitments establish phased service dates stretching from late 2026 through 2029.
Producers Midstream II has taken a final investment decision on Train II of its Dude processing plant in Lea County, New Mexico. That decision satisfied a condition for a previously announced 10-year Double E transportation agreement covering 100 million cubic feet per day, with service expected during the fourth quarter of 2026.
Double E also has an 11-year contract for 210 million cubic feet per day. The first 80 million cubic feet per day is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026, followed by another 130 million cubic feet per day during the second half of 2028. Summit said the agreement adds delivery access to the Transwestern Central Pool, the Hugh Brinson Pipeline and a planned connection with the Desert Southwest Pipeline.
A separate precedent agreement covers 100 million cubic feet per day from an operating processing plant in Eddy County, New Mexico. Summit said the lateral connecting that plant to Double E is expected to enter service in the first quarter of 2027.
Summit previously estimated approximately $50 million of project costs net to its 70% Double E interest for the announced connection and firm-transportation projects, with approximately $35 million expected in 2026 and the balance in 2027. That estimate was disclosed before the current quarterly update and should not be presented as the total cost of the proposed mainline compression expansion.
What Work Is Advancing in the Williston Basin?
Summit added or accelerated approximately 30 Williston Basin well connections within its 2026 capital program, with most expected during the fourth quarter. The company attributed the additional activity to recent commercial agreements and customers accelerating development.
One disclosed agreement covers crude oil gathering in Divide County, North Dakota. It includes approximately 40,000 dedicated acres adjoining Summit’s Polar and Divide systems and is expected to support 15 planned horizontal wells, each with an approximately four-mile lateral, by the end of 2026.
The company also reported connecting 17 Williston wells after the end of the second quarter, including nine served by both crude oil and produced-water gathering. These are operating and connection milestones rather than an announcement of a new processing plant or long-haul pipeline.
Allstream Perspective
Summit’s revised capital plan puts near-term work into two distinct groups: pad and gathering connections across the Williston and Mid-Con systems, and pipeline compression and interconnection work on Double E. The Double E compressor purchase order is the clearest procurement milestone because it confirms that Double E has placed an order for long-lead compressor equipment even though the broader expansion still awaits a final investment decision.
As the disclosed projects advance, the announced scope could support work involving:
- Gas turbine compressor installation, foundations and auxiliary systems
- Compressor-station piping, valves, metering, electrical and controls
- Pipeline lateral construction and plant interconnections in Lea and Eddy counties
- Federal permitting, environmental surveys and compliance support
- Pad connections and gathering-system extensions in North Dakota
- Crude oil and produced-water gathering infrastructure
- Integrity testing, instrumentation, automation and commissioning
These categories are Allstream analysis based on the confirmed project descriptions. They are not announced bid packages, contractor awards or procurement solicitations.
The next major Double E milestone is the formal investment decision. The compressor purchase order supports the targeted schedule but does not mean the equipment has been manufactured, delivered or fully paid for, and it does not mean the full project has received construction authorization. Regulatory filings, the conclusion of the open season and additional binding transportation commitments remain important indicators for the project’s execution path.
