Phillips 66, Kinder Morgan to proceed with Western Gateway pipeline

Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan announced this week that they had secured enough shipper commitments to move forward with development of the Western Gateway refined product pipeline.

This follows two open seasons to solicit shipper interest in capacity on the pipeline. The first open season concluded in December 2025, having generated “significant” shipper interest, including shipper commitments, according to previous announcements. The second open season, covering the remaining available capacity on Western Gateway, was then launched in January. It was initially due to close at the end of March, but was extended until April 15 “based on continued interest”. Now, Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan have deemed the second open season a success, securing sufficient long-term shipper commitments to proceed with building the pipeline. However, this is still subject to the execution of definitive transportation service agreements, joint venture agreements and approvals by the two companies’ boards.

Western Gateway will connect supply from refineries in the US Midwest and on the Gulf Coast to Phoenix, Arizona and California. The pipeline will also connect to Las Vegas, Nevada, via Kinder Morgan’s Calnev pipeline. Western Gateway will consist of a new-build pipeline from Borger, Texas to Phoenix, combined with Kinder Morgan’s existing SFPP pipeline from Colton, California to Phoenix, which will be reversed to enable east-to-west product flows into California. The Gold pipeline, operated by Phillips 66, which currently flows from Borger to St. Louis, Missouri, will also be reversed to allow the transportation of refined products from the Midwest and Gulf Coast to Borger, where they will be able to connect to Western Gateway.

Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan have not disclosed the projected cost of building Western Gateway but have said that they are targeting completion of the project by 2029. The pipeline will have the capacity to transport 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of refined products directly from the Midcontinent to Arizona. According to the Western Gateway website, this will replace the roughly 125,000 bpd that Phoenix currently receives via Kinder Morgan’s SFPP pipeline from California, allowing those volumes to remain in California instead.

The project comes amid a decline in California’s refining capacity as a result of two refineries going offline. Phillips 66 idled its Los Angeles refinery at the end of 2025 and operations at Valero Energy’s Benicia refinery are due to cease by the end of April.

This threatens to drive up gasoline prices in the region, which has limited pipeline connectivity with refineries in other parts of the US. The situation is further exacerbated by the conflict in the Middle East and its impact on global fuel markets.

“Customer response during the open season underscores the importance of Western Gateway in addressing long‑term refined products logistics needs in the region,” stated Phillips 66’s chairman and CEO, Mark Lashier. “Strong market interest validates the role this project can play in improving supply flexibility and reliability for West Coast markets,” he continued.

“By utilising existing pipeline assets across multiple states along the route, we’re uniquely well-positioned to support a refined products transportation solution,” added Kinder Morgan’s CEO, Kim Dang.