OKE Plans to Expand Permian Presence With Brazos Midland Acquisition

OKE agreed to acquire Brazos Midstream's Permian Midland Basin natural gas assets for $4.425 billion, funding the deal through a $9 billion minority equity investment from Apollo. The transaction will more than double ONEOK's Midland Basin processing capacity to 2.3 billion cubic feet per day and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.

The acquisition positions OKE to capture strategic synergies across the natural gas and natural gas liquids value chain in the Permian, where production continues to drive midstream capacity expansion. Apollo's $9 billion equity commitment provides ONEOK with significant capital flexibility while preserving leverage metrics during the integration period.

The deal marks one of the larger midstream M&A transactions announced this cycle and underscores consolidation momentum among pipeline and processing operators seeking scale in core basins. ONEOK's expanded footprint in the Midland Basin will allow it to compete more directly with peers including ENB, WMB, and WES for throughput and gathering contracts as Permian gas production growth accelerates.