- Ares Management has bought Meade Pipeline for about $1.1 billion, strengthening its U.S. natural gas portfolio.
- Meade holds a 40% stake in the Central Penn Line, a major pipeline moving shale gas to key U.S. regions.
On Monday, September 29, Ares Management said its infrastructure funds acquired Meade Pipeline for about $1.1 billion, adding a key natural gas asset to its U.S. energy portfolio as demand for power and gas rises.
Furthermore, Ares bought the company from affiliates of XPLR Infrastructure, an independent power producer formed by NextEra Energy.
In addition, the deal expands Ares’ energy infrastructure holdings when utilities and investors seek stable, lower-cost fuel supplies to back up intermittent renewable generation.
“Driven by electrification, industrial activity and increasing LNG exports, we are witnessing tremendous growth in power and natural gas demand,” said Steve Porto, partner at Ares Infrastructure Opportunities.
Meanwhile, Meade owns a 40% interest in the Central Penn Line. This 180-mile pipeline delivers gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale basins in Pennsylvania to demand centres in the U.S. Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.
Williams Companies’ Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line, or Transco, co-owns and operates the system under long-term leases.
The Central Penn Line, which started operations in 2018, has a capacity of about 2.3 billion cubic feet per day, including volumes from its Leidy South expansion completed in 2022.