Phillips 66 Co. and Kinder Morgan Inc. have launched a binding open season for transportation service on the Western Gateway Pipeline, a newly proposed refined products pipeline system that could increase fuel supply to the US West Coast.
The proposed pipeline is envisioned as a 1,300-mi. new-build, liquid product pipeline from Borger, Tex., to Phoenix, Ariz., combined with Kinder Morgan’s existing SFPP LP pipeline from Colton, Calif., to Phoenix, Ariz., which will be reversed to enable east to west product flows into California, the companies said in a joint release Oct. 20.
If realized, the Western Gateway Pipeline would be fed from supplies connected to Borger, Tex., as well as supplies already connected to SFPP’s system in El Paso, Tex. The Gold Pipeline, operated by Phillips 66, which currently flows from Borger to St. Louis, would be reversed to enable refined products from midcontinent refineries to flow toward Borger and supply the Western Gateway Pipeline.
Phillips 66 signed a deal in September to acquire the remaining 50% interest in WRB Refining LP from partner Cenovus Energy Inc. for $1.4 billion in cash. Among other things, that deal gives Phillips 66 full ownership of the 149,000-b/d Borger refinery in Borger, Tex., which it has operated since the WRB Refining JV’s formation in 2007.
California barrels
If the pipeline is advanced and completed by 2029, as the companies initially plan, it could be the first pipeline system to deliver motor fuels into California, Bloomberg reported Oct. 20.
The move comes as Phillips 66 advances plans to close its 139,000 b/d Los Angeles refinery and Valero has voiced plans to shutter its 145,000 b/d Benicia refinery next year.
Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan, citing the US Energy Information Administration, noted in the project open season release that California "is on track to lose ~17–20% of its refining capacity by mid-2026." Further, the companies said, "Arizona and Nevada depend heavily on California barrels, and the existing pipelines into Arizona run near capacity, leaving little backup space during outages."
According to the companies, the proposed Western Gateway Pipeline would be capable of "supplying 200,000 b/d of Midcontinent refined products directly into Arizona, replacing the estimated 125,000 b/d that Phoenix currently receives via Kinder Morgan’s SFPP pipeline from California, allowing those volumes to remain in California, increasing supply availability for in-state markets."
Open season on the proposed pipeline began Oct. 20, 2025, and will close at 12:00 p.m. Central Time on Dec. 19, 2025.
