Targa's $5B Delaware Basin buildout is live
Plus: 92-well NM program spuds, Ovintiv drops $460M on land
🔥 The Big One
Targa's $5B Delaware Basin Buildout Adds 3 Gas Plants, New Pipeline
Targa Resources is building three new gas processing plants, Wrangler, Ranger and Ranger II, in the Delaware Basin with combined capacity of 825 MMcf/d, plus a new 70-mile pipeline feeding the Waha hub through its Bull Run residue system. Startup is targeted for the first half of 2028, part of a $5 billion FY2026 capital plan bundled with new midstream deals involving ExxonMobil subsidiaries. That's a multi-year buildout for EPC, pipefitting and E&I crews across West Texas and southeast New Mexico. If you work the Delaware Basin, this is the backlog to plan your schedule around.
Read the full breakdown →✍️ Editor's Take
Permian activity isn't slowing, it's compounding. EON spudded the first of 92 horizontal wells in Eddy County, Ovintiv dropped $460M on 240 new locations, Enbridge bought a $600M Permian gathering system, and Targa's $5B buildout adds three gas plants plus 70 miles of pipeline. That's drilling, gathering, and processing crews all landing multi-year backlog at once. Meanwhile Gulf Coast megaprojects like SpaceX's spaceport, the Blue Point ammonia plant, and CP2 LNG are stacking a second wave of work behind it. The real bottleneck isn't demand, it's qualified NDE inspectors and process engineers to keep it all running safely.
— FieldNews Staff
This Week in 60 Seconds
- EON Spuds First of 92 Horizontal Wells in New Mexico
A 92-well San Andres program just started in Eddy County, running into 2027 and beyond.
- Ovintiv Drops $460M on 240 New Drilling Locations
60-plus bolt-on land deals added 240 locations across the Midland basin and Alberta's Montney.
- Two Dead in WV Refinery H2S Release, CSB Finds Gaps
Workers lacked gas monitors and proper respirator filters during decommissioning work, CSB says.
- SpaceX's $100B Spaceport Could Mean 34,000 Jobs
No contractor named yet for Starbase Louisiana, but construction could start by 2027.
- Enbridge Buys $600M Permian Crude Gathering System
500 miles of Delaware Basin gathering infrastructure now feeds Enbridge's Ingleside export terminal.
📍 Where the Work Is
- Permian Basin (West Texas & SE New Mexico) 🔥 HOT — Drilling programs, land buys, and midstream buildouts are stacking up from Eddy County to the Midland basin.
- Louisiana Gulf Coast 🔥 HOT — A $3.7B ammonia plant broke ground and a $100B SpaceX spaceport got unveiled, while CP2 LNG cleared its last legal hurdle.
- Alberta / Western Canada 🔥 HOT — Enbridge, KKR and Apollo are funding a C$2.7B BC pipeline buildout while Ovintiv keeps buying into the Montney, even as new tariffs hit Sept. 8.
- Texas (statewide heavy civil) — A $138B, 10-year transportation plan opens a long pipeline of paving and design-build work starting with the 2027 program cycle.
- Alaska — TAPS owners are seeking an early 30-year land rights renewal, betting on decades more pipeline maintenance and upgrade work.
🟢 Open Windows
Bids, packages, and decisions with a clock on them.
Sep 8, 2026
Canada retaliatory tariffs — 50% tariffs hit US steel, dairy, appliances and farm equipment; price your steel buys now.Fall 2026
Key Bridge Demolition Package — Maryland accepting bids on the $50M-$100M demolition and marine work package; bids due this fall.Sep 13, 2026
TAPS Land Rights Renewal — BLM's 15-day comment window on Alyeska's early 30-year TAPS renewal opened Aug 29.
👷 Crew Market: Fluor laid off 66 workers at Novelis' Bay Minette, Alabama plant as the $5B project shifts from construction to commissioning.
📈 The Number
34,000
SpaceX's proposed Starbase Louisiana spaceport could generate over 34,000 construction jobs on Gulf Coast marshland, though no contractor is named yet.
Engineering News-Record
On Your Radar
- Sep 9CAOEC Golf Tournament — Calgary, AB networking event for oilfield contractors
- Sep 13-16AREMA Annual Conference — Kansas City, MO; rail engineering and maintenance
- Dec 2-4HDD Rodeo Nationals — Perry, GA; PG&E crew qualified after Louisville win
- Jul 2031OSHA Warehouse NEP extended — Warehouse inspection authority renewed through 2031
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