Blackstone Agrees to Buy 296-Mile Gas Pipeline, Targets 2027 Closing

Key Facts

Funds managed by Blackstone Infrastructure announced on November 10, 2026, that they had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Portland Natural Gas Transmission System, known as PNGTS, from funds managed by BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners and Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners. The system spans 296 miles and transports gas from Canadian and Appalachian supply basins to New England and Atlantic Canada, according to a Blackstone statement. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, and the company expects to complete it in the first half of 2027. The financial terms were not disclosed, according to a statement from Blackstone’s legal adviser. The agreement places a long-term contracted, regulated asset in a deal awaiting completion of its procedures, without the company saying the acquisition will expand its presence in regional markets.

The system begins near Pittsburgh, New Hampshire, and has delivery points in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts, according to Blackstone. The company says the pipeline serves a diverse range of utilities, power generators and industrial customers under long-term contracts. Its rates and service terms are overseen by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The infrastructure operated by PNGTS has capacity of about 460,000 British thermal units per day, according to the company’s website. The customer mix, contracts and regulatory oversight describe the system’s operations as presented by the company, while the financial details of the deal remain undisclosed.

In July 2026, PNGTS asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve an increase in the certified capacity of the northern pipeline by 14,160 thousand cubic feet per day, and of the segment shared with Maritimes & Northeast by 14,514 thousand cubic feet per day. The company tied the request to a new firm service agreement with an unaffiliated shipper for 14,217 thousand cubic feet per day, according to the commission’s notice. PNGTS said in its filing that the increase would require no construction or additional costs. The request adds a regulatory process related to system capacity to the deal’s context, but it remains a request filed in July, not an approval announced as part of the acquisition agreement. The deal itself remains subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

Transmission pipelines are important in the New England market, which faces constraints on gas delivery, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s assessment for the 2025-2026 winter season. The commission said liquefied natural gas imports, despite their limited and declining role in the U.S. gas balance, remain important to the region because of pipeline constraints. The commission estimated that net U.S. gas exports would average 15.8 billion cubic feet per day in the 2025-2026 winter, compared with 12.6 billion in the 2024-2025 winter. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said pipeline constraints often limit gas deliveries to New England and its power plants. The agency linked those constraints to recurring winter increases in gas and electricity prices, underscoring the role of regional transmission lines.

In the system’s previous sale, TC Energy announced the deal’s completion in August 2024 at a total price of about 1.6 billion Canadian dollars, or 1.1 billion U.S. dollars, including 250 million dollars of outstanding senior notes assumed by the buyer. Maine’s Office of the Public Advocate said the state’s approval of that sale included conditions to protect customers. They included a requirement that PNGTS not seek recovery of the acquisition premium or transaction costs, and that it comply with field technician employment requirements. The approval conditions also required the buyers to explore commercially reasonable ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to measure and report emissions from PNGTS facilities to the Public Utilities Commission. Those conditions applied to the previous sale; the current deal statement disclosed no financial terms or similar details about approvals.

Matt Runkel, head of Blackstone Infrastructure’s energy and midstream sectors, said the company was “focused on supporting the PNGTS team for the long term.” Mark Mitchell, PNGTS chief executive, said the management team and employees remained focused on serving customers in the region and enhancing the asset integrity management program. The two statements point to management’s focus on continued operations and customer service during the ownership transition, according to Blackstone’s statement. In trading, Blackstone shares closed at $122.01 on November 11, 2026, according to EL7 data. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, after customary closing conditions are met and regulatory approvals are obtained.