Enbridge Inc. has launched a non-binding open season for West Texas Express (WTX), a proposed 2-bcfd natural gas pipeline designed to move Permian basin supply west from the Waha hub to markets in and around El Paso, Tex. The open season closes at 5 p.m. CDT on Sept. 25, 2026.

The project would comprise more than 150 miles of new 42-in. OD pipeline. Enbridge said WTX could also include laterals serving Hudspeth County, Tex., and delivery points at the US-Mexico border, positioning the line to serve downstream markets in Mexico, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Enbridge framed the project as a response to growing demand for reliable gas supply from proposed power generation, utilities, generators, and industrial customers such as data centers across west Texas. The Waha area has become the Permian's key aggregation point as associated gas output grows alongside crude production, and takeaway capacity westward remains thinner than eastward routes to the Gulf Coast.

System design remains fluid. Enbridge said WTX can be configured to connect with existing pipeline infrastructure based on customer requirements identified through the open season. Final capacity, routing, receipt and delivery points, and system design will all be informed by market interest gathered during the process — a signal that the 2-bcfd figure and the 150-mile routing are working assumptions rather than sanctioned specifications.

Subject to securing sufficient commercial support and obtaining required approvals, Enbridge is targeting a fourth-quarter 2029 in-service date. That timeline puts WTX in competition with other Permian takeaway projects targeting the same late-decade window, as midstream operators race to serve power-hungry data center loads across the Southwest and northern Mexico.

The announcement follows Enbridge's agreement last week to acquire Tallgrass Energy LP's crude oil business for $2.55 billion in cash, extending the Calgary-based company's US footprint beyond its liquids and gas transmission portfolios.

The watch item: binding commitments from the open season and federal and state approvals, which will determine whether WTX holds to its fourth-quarter 2029 startup.