The story
The company was founded by Kelcy Warren and Ray Davis in 1996. In 2011, Energy Transfer and Regency Energy Partners formed a joint venture to purchase midstream assets from Louis Dreyfus Highbridge Energy for $2 billion, now known as Castleton Commodities International.
In October 2012, Sunoco, Inc., became a wholly owned subsidiary of the company. It acquired the general partner interests, 100% of the incentive distribution rights, and a 32.4% limited partnership interest in Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P., which operates a geographically diverse portfolio of crude oil and refined products pipelines, terminating and crude oil acquisition and marketing assets. The same year it acquired Southern Union Company which added more than 20,000 miles of gathering and transportation pipeline to its portfolio.
In August 2014, the company acquired Susser Holdings Corporation, which operated Stripes Convenience Stores, a chain of 580 stores located in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, which were re-branded under the Sunoco and A-Plus names.
In January 2015, the company acquired Regency Energy Partners for $11 billion. During the same year, the company also agreed to purchase Williams for around $32.6 billion, however the acquisition was terminated by Energy Transfer in June 2016. Energy Transfer was later ordered to pay Williams a breakup fee of $410 million.
In October 2018, Energy Transfer Equity completed its acquisition of Energy Transfer Partners, simplifying the partnership as one operating entity known as Energy Transfer LP. In September 2019, the company acquired SemGroup for $5 billion. In January 2020, former Energy Secretary Rick Perry rejoined the company's board.
In August 2023, it was announced Energy Transfer had signed a definitive agreement to acquire its Houston-headquartered rival, Crestwood Equity Partners for approximately $7.1 billion. The acquisition of Houston-headquartered Crestwood Equity Partners was completed in early 2025, further expanding Energy Transfer’s midstream footprint.
In 2025, Energy Transfer announced the Desert Southwest Pipeline, a 516 mile natural gas project connecting the Permian Basin to markets in Arizona and New Mexico, expected to be operational in 2029.
Dakota Access Pipeline
Dakota Access, LLC is owned 36.4% by the company and built the Bakken pipeline, also known as the Dakota Access Pipeline.
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In April 2016, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States Department of the Interior, and Advisory Council on Historic Preservation requested a full Environmental Impact Statement of the pipeline. In July 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe filed an injunction against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to stop building the pipeline. A group of young activists from Standing Rock ran from North Dakota to Washington, D.C., to present a petition in protest of the construction of the pipeline and launched an international campaign called ReZpect Our Water. In October 2016, Dakota Access Pipeline protests erupted at a construction site near the Cannonball River in North Dakota, resulting in the arrest of hundreds and the use of force by a private security company, North Dakota State and county police, and the North Dakota National Guard.
In August 2017, Energy Transfer filed lawsuits against environmental groups Greenpeace USA, BankTrack and Earth First! under the Patriot Act. A federal court dismissed the case in 2019. The lawsuit alleged Greenpeace USA misled the public with false claims about the Standing Rock Sioux tribes' sacred sites and the likelihood the pipeline would contaminate the Missouri River in North Dakota. In contrast, a 2018 Greenpeace report said Energy Transfer pipelines and those owned by the company's subsidiaries "spilled over 500 times in the last decade." A second civil suit in 2025 sought $300 million in damages from Greenpeace, alleging a leadership role by the organization in the Dakota Access Pipeline protests which Greenpeace denies. A jury awarded $666.8 million in damages to Energy Transfer, holding Greenpeace USA and its affiliates (including Greenpeace Fund and Greenpeace International) liable. Greenpeace is appealing the ruling.
From Wikipedia’s article on Energy Transfer Equity, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.6