North America will need more than $1 trillion in new midstream energy investment by 2052, according to the INGAA Foundation’s 2025 North American Midstream Infrastructure Report, which says natural gas will remain central to the region’s power system even as decarbonisation policies advance. The study argues that rising electricity demand, expanding liquefied natural gas exports and the continued role of gas-fired generation will require a large buildout of pipelines, gathering systems and related assets across the United States and Canada.
The report, released in March, says the investment requirement covers natural gas, oil, natural gas liquids, hydrogen and carbon dioxide infrastructure, but gas dominates the discussion. INGAA says the system will need at least 37,000 miles of new natural gas transmission pipeline and 103,000 miles of gathering lines through 2052, with pipeline capacity needing to rise by nearly 40 per cent from 2022 levels to move an additional 70 billion cubic feet a day under its business-as-usual case. Even under a lower-carbon scenario, the study still projects a need for more than 25,000 miles of new natural gas pipelines.
That outlook lands at a time when official projections and industry investment plans are pointing in the same direction on power demand. The U. S. Energy Information Administration said this month that electricity load has been rising by 1.7 per cent a year since 2020 after more than a decade of weak growth, driven mainly by large-scale computing facilities. In its higher-demand case, the agency said natural gas-fired power generation could rise 7.3 per cent between 2025 and 2027, far above its baseline scenario, as data centres tighten supply conditions in key regions such as Texas and the PJM market.
LNG is another major force behind the buildout case. The International Energy Agency said in January that global LNG supply rose by almost 7 per cent in 2025 and is expected to grow by more than 7 per cent in 2026, with North America accounting for most of the increase. The agency said more than 90 billion cubic metres a year of LNG liquefaction capacity reached final investment decision in 2025, with the United States responsible for more than 80 bcm of that total, reinforcing its position as the world’s largest LNG supplier.
Supporters of the INGAA findings say those trends show why pipeline constraints are becoming harder to ignore. Utilities and developers are already signalling a stronger role for gas in meeting AI-linked power demand. Reuters reported this week that NextEra has secured land in Texas for a large gas-fired plant aimed at serving a data-centre campus, while Duke Energy won approval for a new gas plant in South Carolina as utilities respond to rising electricity needs. Those developments strengthen the industry argument that upstream production alone cannot guarantee reliability unless transport and delivery networks expand in step.
The economic case is only part of the story. INGAA and allied industry voices present natural gas as a reliability fuel that can support grids, industry and export earnings while complementing renewables. Their case is that delayed permitting and underinvestment in pipelines could raise the risk of bottlenecks, curtailments and higher power prices. The trade group has also been pressing for faster federal approval processes, and the U. S. House passed legislation in December aimed at speeding up interstate natural gas pipeline permitting by giving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission a stronger lead role.
Yet the report’s assumptions are far from uncontested. Critics of a gas-heavy buildout argue that infrastructure with a lifespan measured in decades may prove misaligned with climate targets, especially if renewables, storage, grid upgrades and demand flexibility scale faster than expected. Reuters has reported that long-duration energy storage projects are being rolled out around data centres, while large technology companies are also exploring ways to curb peak demand and pay more directly for the infrastructure their facilities require. Those shifts could reduce the need for some fossil-based capacity additions over time, even if they do not remove near-term reliability pressures.
Environmental scrutiny remains another obstacle. The IEA said the energy sector accounted for more than 35 per cent of methane emissions from human activity in 2024, with natural gas operations responsible for nearly 35 million tonnes. It said a significant share of oil and gas methane emissions could be cut at no net cost, underscoring the challenge facing companies that argue for gas expansion while also claiming climate compatibility. At the same time, pipeline projects continue to face legal and political resistance, as shown by California’s lawsuit against the U. S. Department of Energy over the revival of the Sable pipeline.
The report, released in March, says the investment requirement covers natural gas, oil, natural gas liquids, hydrogen and carbon dioxide infrastructure, but gas dominates the discussion. INGAA says the system will need at least 37,000 miles of new natural gas transmission pipeline and 103,000 miles of gathering lines through 2052, with pipeline capacity needing to rise by nearly 40 per cent from 2022 levels to move an additional 70 billion cubic feet a day under its business-as-usual case. Even under a lower-carbon scenario, the study still projects a need for more than 25,000 miles of new natural gas pipelines.
That outlook lands at a time when official projections and industry investment plans are pointing in the same direction on power demand. The U. S. Energy Information Administration said this month that electricity load has been rising by 1.7 per cent a year since 2020 after more than a decade of weak growth, driven mainly by large-scale computing facilities. In its higher-demand case, the agency said natural gas-fired power generation could rise 7.3 per cent between 2025 and 2027, far above its baseline scenario, as data centres tighten supply conditions in key regions such as Texas and the PJM market.
LNG is another major force behind the buildout case. The International Energy Agency said in January that global LNG supply rose by almost 7 per cent in 2025 and is expected to grow by more than 7 per cent in 2026, with North America accounting for most of the increase. The agency said more than 90 billion cubic metres a year of LNG liquefaction capacity reached final investment decision in 2025, with the United States responsible for more than 80 bcm of that total, reinforcing its position as the world’s largest LNG supplier.
Supporters of the INGAA findings say those trends show why pipeline constraints are becoming harder to ignore. Utilities and developers are already signalling a stronger role for gas in meeting AI-linked power demand. Reuters reported this week that NextEra has secured land in Texas for a large gas-fired plant aimed at serving a data-centre campus, while Duke Energy won approval for a new gas plant in South Carolina as utilities respond to rising electricity needs. Those developments strengthen the industry argument that upstream production alone cannot guarantee reliability unless transport and delivery networks expand in step.
The economic case is only part of the story. INGAA and allied industry voices present natural gas as a reliability fuel that can support grids, industry and export earnings while complementing renewables. Their case is that delayed permitting and underinvestment in pipelines could raise the risk of bottlenecks, curtailments and higher power prices. The trade group has also been pressing for faster federal approval processes, and the U. S. House passed legislation in December aimed at speeding up interstate natural gas pipeline permitting by giving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission a stronger lead role.
Yet the report’s assumptions are far from uncontested. Critics of a gas-heavy buildout argue that infrastructure with a lifespan measured in decades may prove misaligned with climate targets, especially if renewables, storage, grid upgrades and demand flexibility scale faster than expected. Reuters has reported that long-duration energy storage projects are being rolled out around data centres, while large technology companies are also exploring ways to curb peak demand and pay more directly for the infrastructure their facilities require. Those shifts could reduce the need for some fossil-based capacity additions over time, even if they do not remove near-term reliability pressures.
Environmental scrutiny remains another obstacle. The IEA said the energy sector accounted for more than 35 per cent of methane emissions from human activity in 2024, with natural gas operations responsible for nearly 35 million tonnes. It said a significant share of oil and gas methane emissions could be cut at no net cost, underscoring the challenge facing companies that argue for gas expansion while also claiming climate compatibility. At the same time, pipeline projects continue to face legal and political resistance, as shown by California’s lawsuit against the U. S. Department of Energy over the revival of the Sable pipeline.
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