What Happened?
Arbo’s analysis of construction data in Texas indicates that Energy Transfer’s Hugh Brinson pipeline began construction at the Cisco compressor station (CS) in Eastland County on September 23, 2025, and along the mainline in mid-September across four of the project’s 17 counties.
What’s the Impact?
This information narrows our in-service forecast from Q4 2026 to November 2026. The timing of construction aligns with the developer’s plan to commence work in 2H 2025 to reach an in-service date of Q4 2026.
Given the project’s length of over 400 miles, we would expect the project to require at least three to four compressor stations (CS). So far, Hugh Brinson has only two air permit approvals: China Lake CS in Glasscock County and the Cisco CS in Eastland County.
Since construction at a compressor station requires both an air permit approval and construction tickets, we assume work begins when both are in place. Our data shows that construction began at the China Lake Station in June. Based on a typical 10 to 14 month construction timeline, we expect the stations to be completed within the following ranges:
If the project includes additional compressor stations, Hugh Brinson will need to receive permit approval and begin construction by late Q4 2025 to early Q1 2026 to avoid potentially missing the Q4 2026 in-service target.
On the mainline, construction activity has been observed along the first 50 miles of the 442-mile route. A project of this scale typically requires about ten months between beginning and concluding mainline construction. If work on the remainder of the route begins by late Q1 2026, and assuming any additional compressor stations receive permits and begin construction by mid Q4 2025, the current construction status supports an in-service date of November 2026.
What to Watch for Next:
In-service Forecast:
Developer: Q4 2026
Arbo: November 2026
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