Kinder Morgan as an operator of North American midstream assets, namely 75,000 miles of pipeline, Kinder Morgan gives us an entirely different perspective than Schlumberger on the energy market.
Kinder Morgan's results are up virtually across the board. Natural gas liquid volume passing through pipelines was up 22%. Overall natural gas traffic rose 11%, driven primarily by demand for electricity generation. And ethanol and biofuel volume rose 11%, as well.
Kinder Morgan has over $2.7 billion in expansion projects underway, and has identified another $12 billion more of potential expansions that could contribute to the bottom line.
While Schlumberger may have shown a bit of pessimism for U.S. energy production, Kinder Morgan shows that the boom in midstream assets is as strong, or stronger, than ever. Incidentally, Kinder Morgan Energy and its master limited partnership, Kinder Morgan Partners (KMP), are probably the best and safest ways to invest in this boom.
It's still early, and there are plenty of energy companies yet to report. Next week, 11 large energy companies in the S&P 500 will report earnings. The gang is heavy on refiners, so we'll have a handle on that segment of the market soon.
Right now, though, it looks like the global chase is still on, and North America offers a very specific midstream opportunity.
