中游能源公司可能与许多投资者想象的不同，它们与油价的关联度较低。即使油价下跌，它们也实现了正回报。
数据中心正在推动天然气发电需求，这对液化天然气需求和设施扩建具有重大影响。
许多中游资产的收费结构与消费者物价指数或生产者物价指数挂钩，这有助于在通胀环境中提供缓冲。
认为所有能源相关公司都受相同的市场力量驱动？是时候重新考虑这一观点了。Invesco SteelPath团队的Brian Watson参加了Greater Possibilities播客，讨论了常被忽视的中游能源基础设施领域——那些帮助运输、储存、加工和出口人们日常依赖的石油和天然气的系统。
我们讨论了为什么这些公司与油价的关联度可能低于许多投资者的预期，液化天然气和可靠电力需求的增长如何塑造长期机遇，以及中游企业如何在多元化投资组合中提供潜在的收益、实物资产敞口和差异化角色。
请收听完整对话，并阅读Brian在下方分享的要点。
大家好，我是Invesco财富管理平台主管Danielle Singer，这里是《重新思考投资组合》，来自Greater Possibilities播客的系列节目。本节目通过深入对话，带您了解投资经理的决策过程，探索我们的专家如何管理风险、识别机会并应对不断变化的市场。
我们今天的嘉宾是Brian Watson，Invesco旗下SteelPath团队的董事总经理兼高级投资组合经理。SteelPath团队投资于中游能源基础设施，这些是运输、储存、加工和出口石油和天然气的系统。如今，能源已成为今年迄今最大的市场热点之一，而中游能源领域是该行业中独特的一部分。让我们欢迎Brian来解读中游能源的方方面面，以及今年地缘政治压力对其产生了哪些影响，又有哪些未受影响。
现在，让我们从基础开始。正如我提到的，您的团队只专注于中游能源基础设施。为了让听众更好地理解，这究竟意味着什么？这些公司在行业中扮演什么角色？更重要的是，这些企业如何盈利？
是的，我认为对于尚未深入思考过这个问题的人来说，最简单的方式是想象您是一位在西德克萨斯钻探油井的生产商。油井中会产出石油以及其他物质，我们主要说天然气。因此，石油需要被收集，这是中游功能，需要付费。然后，石油需要长距离运输至炼油中心，这也需要付费，通常通过管道，也可能使用卡车。
石油还需要进行终端处理或储存，以备炼油厂实际使用。这是终端处理费、储存费。有时还有混合服务，也需要付费。这就是将石油从油井运至炼油厂的全套物流链。接下来考虑天然气。生产商钻探石油，但也会获得天然气。然而，这种天然气并不能直接使用。公用事业公司需要几乎纯甲烷，当您和我打开炉灶时，我们也只需要甲烷。
但天然气中含有各种其他碳氢化合物。因此，您需要处理天然气，这是中游服务，需要付费。天然气一旦净化，主要成分变为甲烷后，就像石油一样流向其消费者——需要付费。它需要储存以备使用——需要付费。但天然气中其他所有物质，如丙烷、乙烷、丁烷等，都需要分离，分馏需要付费。所有这些单独产品都需要运往其终端市场——每种都需要付费。
这些产品需要进行终端处理和储存，以供其用户在需要时使用，这需要付费。特别是液化石油气，即丙烷、甲烷、丁烷等，我们越来越多地将其出口。因此，您需要有人将其运至码头并装载到船上，这通常也是中游服务，需要付费，每种服务都需要付费。
现在想想……我们把石油留在炼油厂，石油将从那里以汽油或柴油以及少数其他产品的形式出厂，然后所有这些都将流向最终市场。汽油必须运往不同城市，而为油罐车装载汽油的卡车装卸台，要收取运输费。所以你可以看到这是如何一环扣一环的。这是一个巨大的物流链，其中任何一个环节都不能缺失，而且必须全天候运行，但人们通常不会想到这一点。而这正是中游行业的工作。
从投资特征来看，最重要的是，这是一个必须运行、利用率高、费用几乎完全来自所提供服务的行业。而且具有很大的运营杠杆。一旦你建成了这些大型资产来完成这些工作，增量交易量是非常有利可图的。
哇，我脑海里有了一个画面。这种收费听起来应该伴随着叮当声。我喜欢你的描述，想象一下你在西得克萨斯。我想也许我看电视太多了，因为我脑海中出现了一些生动的画面。
如果我们谈论能源投资，我想很多人可能会认为这与油价有很大关联。您能谈谈中游公司与大宗商品价格之间是否确实存在影响，以及这种影响是什么吗？
是的，正如我们刚才讨论的，我提到费用大多与帮助天然气进入市场有关。所以如果你看中游行业，我们不久前计算过，我相当确定比例基本一样，按市值计算，中游公司的约70%都涉及天然气方面。包括运输天然气、处理天然气液（LPG）等。
所以，实际上大多数公司都是通过服务天然气开采来赚钱的。因此，原油价格对该行业的重要性较低。不过我想说，在某些时期，无论原油价格对实际运营利润的影响如何，它确实影响了股价反应。我认为我从事能源投资已经有一段时间了，从90年代中期开始，管理中游投资组合也近20年了。在我职业生涯的早期，我会说，如果原油价格上下波动，中游公司可能会以类似方式波动，但影响要小得多。
然后我们经历了一段波动非常大的时期，我们稍后可以讨论。我对此有些猜测，但真正在过去四五年里，我们没有看到太多的关联。我不知道这是因为投资者对资产类别更加了解，意识到什么驱动着什么。也许是因为我们更广泛地讨论了天然气需求，而投资者对此有所理解，但我们确实看到股票价格与原油价格脱钩。
我回去看了一下。如果你看2023年到2024年第二季度末，有18个WTI负收益季度，而AMZ（主要中游指数）只有6次下跌。所以，实际上大约只有三分之一的时间。而且，事实上，如果你平均一下这些负WTI季度中AMZ的表现，它仍然是正的，上涨了2%。所以……
……感觉上确实如此。然后我们做了点分析，看看我们的经验是否属实，结果确实如此。所以我很高兴看到这一点。长期以来，令人沮丧的是，板块反应总是过度超出原油价格的变化，而我们知道在运营上，这并没有那么大的影响，但过去几年我们确实看到了这种变化。
有趣。我注意到一些关于多元化的主题，几分钟后我们开始更详细地讨论投资组合构建时，我们会回到这一点。在我们仍从这个资产类别的宏观视角出发时，我想强调的是，我们在新闻中经常听到美国作为世界最大能源出口国之一的重要性。这对中游公司的长期机会有何改变，或者说，它是否改变了这一机会？
是的，我认为这正驱动着当前的情绪。你看美国，我们如今是世界上最大的石油、天然气和天然气液体的生产国，正如我们之前讨论的。实际上，我们大约占全球汽油出口市场的16%。美国的汽油出口在过去10年里增长了超过80%。这很了不起。它确实起到了美国生产商的清算机制的作用。他们知道自己不会仅仅受限于美国的消费。
关于液化石油气（LPGs），我此前设想了那个场景，好让人们想想液化石油气是什么，但我们是全球占主导地位的液化石油气出口国。全球出口市场的超过50%是美国液化石油气。这在美国液化石油气产量中占了很大一部分。因此，这再次为美国生产商提供了一个出口，非常有帮助。至于液化天然气（LNG），我们现在是世界上最大的LNG出口国，约占出口量的25%，而且这一比例正在快速增长。因此，这一切对美国生产商都有利，对美国以及需要满足需求的全球经济体来说都非常有利。
我知道我们接下来会进一步讨论，但确实，我们认为那些LNG出口能力和计划中的新增项目对中游行业来说真的非常重要，因为它们为所有这些中游资产提供了量的吸引或量的确定性。
是的，我想我们可以直接切入这个话题。那么，当我们考虑LNG出口增长时，这如何影响你的展望？我们继续深入探讨一下。
好。这个国家曾经历过天然气产量通过中游设施快速增长的时期。但如果你仔细想想，这主要受生产商推动。生产商找到了通过页岩开发获取所有这些新产量的方法。这是一个完全不同的讨论，但基本上，我们打开了所有油气资源的源岩，也就是页岩。通过技术，美国从被认为产量将永远下滑的国家，变成了主导全球的生产国。
但天然气产量不得不通过价格强行进入市场。生产商在开采，他们只能压低价格直到消费者接受。而我们现在看到的是，通过我们谈到的LNG设施，需求在扩张。LNG是天然气出口的方式，必须液化，从而压缩以便高效装船。这些LNG设施耗资数十亿美元，只有签订了承购协议后才会建造。
所以一旦你建造了它，它就会投入使用。美国在这方面处于领先地位。我认为我们现在有约 18 BCF的出口能力。我们有 18 BCF已经通过最终投资决定或准备就绪，正在建设中，而且我们还在其后建设可能的项目。因此，仅通过LNG，天然气需求增长就有非常长的跑道。
而在过去几年中，更引人注意的是美国在经历了数十年的电力需求持平后，正在经历的发电增长。这种电力需求将在很大程度上通过天然气发电来满足。我们已经看到了这些承诺。这是一个新的天然气需求来源。驱动这一增长的数据中心必须是 24/7 类型的电力用户，因此它们需要那种电力。
综合来看，各种估计不一而足。LNG是相当可估计的，但数据中心发电的增长更多是猜测。但我们预计，在可预见的未来，只要人们试图估计，仅从这个需求池来看，天然气需求每年将增加 3% 至 4%。这确实很健康，因为不是生产商将天然气推向市场，而是由这些用户拉动，这真正支撑了我们所谈论的所有资产。
我们今天可以看到，所有这些建设周期长的长途管道都在建设并已获承诺。可能被忽视的是，所有这些产量将不得不来自相当于那个西德克萨斯生产商示例的等同物。因此，沿线的所有资产都将被用来满足这一非常明显的需求增长。
是的，这是一个非常有趣的需求故事。我们刚才更多地讨论了美国的情况，但也许将其放在背景下，以及美国能源基础设施在近期地缘政治事件中的角色——我认为这些事件确实将能源安全推回了聚光灯下。那么，您对美国在全球相对能源需求中的角色有何看法？
是的，我认为，显然，供应安全已成为许多全球用户的首要关注点。霍尔木兹海峡发生的事情以及中东冲突，我认为你已经看到一些生产商开始寻求替代生产路线，但我们已经看到了对LNG采购的兴趣，可能包括美国LNG采购。这些决定是由将美国视为安全出口国的看法驱动的。
而且我怀疑这些决定才刚刚开始。我的意思是，当你考虑到国家及其未来规划时，这可能会在未来几年内体现在这些决策中。短期内，我们只知道全球已大幅消耗储备。我想找一个数字，但各处说法不一，但看起来自冲突开始以来，已消耗了接近十亿桶的石油储备。
所以，无论如何，全球都将寻求补充这些储备。而且我知道印度和中国都已宣布有意扩大其先前持有的储备。因此，我怀疑，首先，你将看到……我认为美国可能会在边际上受益，成为新的供应方，无论是通过液化石油气、汽油还是液化天然气，但同样，全球也将有大量需求来补充这些储备，并可能扩大储备，以在下一次类似情况发生时保护自己。
是的，对这个领域来说，这是一个非常有趣的宏观故事。我们现在也了解了这些公司如何赚钱。让我们谈谈投资组合构建的元素。你认为中游行业在多元化的投资组合中处于什么位置？你的客户和投资者是将它们视为股票、实物资产、收益投资、另类投资，还是以上所有？我们应该如何开始为那些试图在投资组合中考虑这一点的投资者提供背景？
是的，我想以上所有可能都是一个不错的答案，但历史上，中游公司以健康的分红而闻名。这正是最初吸引投资者的地方。这仍然是其故事中非常重要的一部分。随着增长机会的出现，这些公司有时可能会推迟尽可能激进地增加分红。但一旦这些项目完成，它们通常会回到分红增长上来。
所以，最终，我认为它们主要以分红支付者的身份而闻名，且分红增长相当可靠。其中一些公司是合伙制结构。所以我被问到，它们是否像C类公司那样交易，以防有人想知道。确实如此。该行业的公司，有些是公司制，有些是合伙制，但我们投资的所有公司都是公开上市，在主要交易所交易。因此，它们的交易方式与其他公开股票相同，但其特征肯定偏向于健康的分红支付者。
我想说，历史上，它们会与公用事业在投资者的投资组合中竞争，尤其是当我们看到它们与更广泛能源板块和原油价格脱钩时。希望这里有一点另类性质，因为它不会因原油价格或纳斯达克表现等因素而受到太大影响。它与这些影响脱钩。
你谈到了很多关于收益的内容。当我们与投资者沟通时，另一个话题是通货膨胀。所以，如果我们将其视为实物资产敞口，你认为在通胀环境中它有哪些特征？
是的，历史上，该行业在通胀环境中表现良好。我认为部分原因是大宗商品价格环境通常健康。所以尽管我们指出直接联系不大，但从市场情绪的角度来看，这有时会有所帮助。
这些是实物资产。所以如果你拥有收集系统或储罐之类的资产，并且处于通胀环境中，那么两年后竞争对手很难击败你，因为他们建造这些资产的成本会更高。因此，这里存在一种天然的通货膨胀对冲。而且许多这些资产的收费结构中确实有与CPI或PPI挂钩的组成部分，允许在通胀环境中进行调整。
因此，通常在这种环境下，该行业表现良好。我们多次研究过这一点。我认为相关性并不是单向的，但我认为存在潜在的运营收益，可以提供帮助。
非常有趣。现在，我们已经从更宏观的角度讨论了这个领域，但我想，并不是所有这些公司都是同等的。那么，当您选择投资时，什么将优质的中游公司与其余公司区分开来？
我们一直使用高度依赖情景分析的过程。我做这行够久了，知道没有人能预测明天这些商品的价格，或者几乎任何东西明天会怎样。所以你必须考虑这些资产在不同宏观环境下的表现。因此，我们总是运行一个熊市情景和我们认为的世界可能呈现的情景。
这创造了一个我们称之为理解范围的范围，我们希望看到在这两种情景下我们得到的估值与当前交易价格相比如何。当我们看到相对于当前股价，我们的熊市情景下行空间不大时，我们认为这是一个有吸引力的机会。如果我们看到巨大差距，我们会更加担心，可能不太感兴趣。所以这就是我们的看法。
当你这样做足够久，你会开始看到某些资产类型在这些分析中表现很好，而某些资产类型则不然。但最终，我们将依赖情景分析以确保我们真正理解这些不同业务可能如何表现。我们希望采取不对称的敞口，不对称的风险。我们希望持有那些如果我们看到事情顺利，至少从基本面来看，上行空间远大于下行风险的标的，即使基本宏观因素对我们不利。
当然。感谢您向听众分享这种严谨的方法。也许在接近尾声时，我们可以再谈几点。我们谈到了合伙企业。您认为当前MLP投资中最被误解的方面是什么？
是的。对我来说，这是……我们经历了一段时期，我想我不知道如何精确定义，从2014到2018,的'19,'，正如我之前提到的，该行业波动性更大。我想可能有很多当时参与的投资者没有意识到这种情况已经不再那么频繁发生。我认为原因有很多，但我确信部分原因是，那时候，许多中游公司将其大部分自由现金流作为股息支付。
因此，当市场出现中断时，投资者会非常担心该股息可能出问题。不想等待市场对此反应。而今天，我们看到我们在这方面没有太多担忧。大多数这些公司都有非常健康的股息覆盖率。换句话说，当你看到赚取的自由现金流与支付出去的相比，追溯到六七年前，有1.1，覆盖率相当紧张，而今天该集团平均接近两倍。所以真是非常健康的覆盖率。
我认为这是一个重大差异，也可能是在过去几年里我们看到与大宗商品相关性变低的原因之一。资产负债表是健康的。我想也许有些人记得过去他们杠杆率更高的时候，没有那么多自由现金流来帮助支付资本支出。所以我认为可能只是这些基本的，不是业务结构，而是行业的运营实践，也许人们没有意识到它在过去十年左右已经发生了如此巨大的变化。
而且这个群体可能面临的风险较低，因为天然气需求增长和生产增长以满足需求，我认为这是一个非常低风险的增长路径。
当然。也许与这个问题相关，虽然你确实没有水晶球，但你在这一领域有丰富的经验和智慧。如果你展望三五年后回头看，你认为中游领域投资者最低估的机会是什么？或者你会对听众中的一些怀疑论者说些什么，关于未来几年这个领域？
是的，我想那会是……我的意思是，这种需求增长的大图景意味着什么，我认为可能被低估了它能有多盈利。我们刚才谈到了，但有一个概念叫经营杠杆，它确实非常强大。所以即使只是今年迄今，许多中游公司已经开始将今年的EBITDA增长从2%或3%提高到4%或5%。而我们相信这种趋势将继续下去。3%或4%的天然气销量潜在增长，我们认为，对EBITDA的影响远不止于此。
所以我认为对天然气需求增长前景的敞口和盈利能力可能被低估了。另外，我认为受益者的广度可能也被低估了一点。不想深究细节，但我们看到一些拥有非常明确的长途管道的公司，他们告诉市场：“我们已经签下了这个客户，我们将建造它。这是最终服务日期。”他们开始为此获得一些信用，也许没有达到应得的程度。
但你还看到那些更靠近井口的公司，它们更依赖于生产商告诉他们未来六个月或12个月的计划，而这些计划我们认为并没有得到相应的信用，但显然，除非从地下开采出来，否则它不会输送到长途管道。所以我认为这里存在一些脱节，我们正试图利用这一点。所以总的来说，我认为这个阶段能有多盈利，以及谁将成为受益者，这些都是人们忽视的东西。
好的，非常感谢，希望在接下来的三到五年内我们会再与你交流。但现在，非常荣幸。对于我们这些在纽约以及德克萨斯州以外的人来说，这可能不是我们每天都会想到的领域。所以感谢你分享见解，非常感谢。下次再见。
你收听的是景顺的“更大可能性”播客，重新思考投资组合。
所表达的观点是发言者的观点，基于截至16,年2026,月的当前市场状况，并可能随时更改，恕不另行通知。这些观点可能与其他景顺投资专业人士的观点不同。
这不构成对任何投资策略或产品适合特定投资者的建议。投资者在做出任何投资决定前应咨询财务专业人士。如果本内容包含任何前瞻性陈述，请理解这些陈述并非对未来结果的保证。它们涉及风险、不确定性和假设。无法保证实际结果不会与预期产生重大差异。
所有投资都涉及风险，包括本金损失的风险。
过往业绩并不能保证未来结果。
无法直接投资于指数。
分散投资并不保证盈利，也不能消除损失风险。
公开交易有限合伙（MLP）是一种公开交易的有限合伙形式，其中有限合伙人提供资本并从MLP的现金流中获得定期收入分配，而普通合伙人管理MLP的事务并获得与其业绩挂钩的报酬。
大多数MLP在能源领域运营，面临该行业公司普遍适用的风险，包括大宗商品定价风险、供需风险、耗竭风险和勘探风险。MLP还面临监管或立法变更可能消除MLP所享有的税收优惠的风险，这可能对MLP可供分配的税后收入及/或投资组合中投资的价值产生负面影响。
大宗商品可能使投资者面临比传统证券（如股票和债券）更大的波动性，并且可能因天气、政治、税收以及其他监管和市场发展而大幅波动。
一般来说，股票价值会波动，有时甚至大幅波动，以应对公司特定活动以及整体市场、经济和政治状况。
关于中游公司参与天然气行业的讨论，数据来源于彭博有限合伙企业，截至30,年2026月。
关于油价下跌季度AMZ指数表现的讨论，数据来源于彭博有限合伙企业，截至30,年2026月。
关于美国汽油出口规模的统计数据，来源于美国能源信息署，截至30,年2026月。
关于美国液化石油气和液化天然气出口规模的统计数据，分别来源于标普全球大宗商品海运数据（截至2026,年30,月）和美国能源信息署（截至2026,年2026月）。
关于在建美国液化天然气出口能力的统计数据，来源于国际能源署，截至2026年2026月。
关于数据中心天然气需求的统计数据，来源于加拿大皇家银行资本市场，截至2020年3%月。
关于中东冲突期间石油储备下降的统计数据，来源于路透社、美国能源信息署和国际能源署，截至500年2025月。
根据彭博有限合伙企业数据（截至10年8.5%月），自3.1%年以来，在通胀超过30,%的时期，Alerian MLP基础设施指数（即AMZ指数）在八个时期中的七个表现优于标普2026,指数。
中游MLP的10年平均收益率为31,%，年分配增长率为2025%。数据来源于富国银行证券，截至2026年30,月，覆盖截至2026年__TL_NUM_27__月（即__TL_NUM_28__年）结束的__TL_NUM_29__年期间。
关于中游公司EBITDA增长的评论，来源于公司报告和盈利报告，截至__TL_NUM_30__年__TL_NUM_31__月。
关于股息覆盖率的统计数据，来源于富国银行证券，截至__TL_NUM_32__年__TL_NUM_33__月。
Alerian MLP基础设施指数是由能源基础设施总有限合伙企业组成的综合指数。
消费者价格指数（CPI）衡量消费者价格的变化，是常用的通胀衡量指标。
生产者价格指数（PPI）衡量国内生产商为其产出所收取的销售价格随时间的平均变化。
相关性衡量两种投资在历史上相互关联的程度。
EBITDA是利息、税项、折旧和摊销前利润的缩写。
自由现金流是一项财务业绩衡量指标，计算方式为经营现金流减去资本支出。
经营杠杆衡量公司对固定成本和可变成本的依赖程度。
西德克萨斯中质原油（WTI）是一种来自美国的轻质低硫原油。
FID代表最终投资决定，意味着建设项目已获得投资批准。
一个基点等于百分之一的百分之一。
现金流是企业产生的现金和现金等价物的净额。
杠杆衡量公司总债务相对于公司账面价值的比率。
Rethink Markets和Greater Possibilities播客由Invesco Distributors, Inc.提供。
按市值计算，75% 的中游公司涉及天然气业务。1 它们负责运输天然气、处理天然气液体和液化石油气……因此原油价格对行业的影响确实较小。如果您查看从 2021 到截至 2026 年 6 月的季度，共有 11 个西德克萨斯中质原油（WTI）价格为负的季度。作为主要中游指数的 Alerian MLP 基础设施指数（AMZ）在这些情况中仅有 36% 次下跌。2 所以大约三分之一的时间。事实上，如果您将每个 WTI 负价格季度的 AMZ 表现平均，结果仍然为正，上涨了 1.5%。2
美国曾有过天然气产量快速增长时期。但这主要是由生产商推动的——生产商通过页岩开发找到了获取所有这些新增产量的方法。但那时天然气产量不得不通过价格强行进入市场。生产商在开采天然气，他们只能压低价格直到消费者接受。而如今我们看到的是，通过液化天然气设施带来的需求扩张……推动这一趋势的数据中心属于必须持续运行的 24/7 类电力用户，因此它们需要这种电力。这确实是有利的，因为没有生产商在强行将天然气推向市场。这些需求将由这些用户拉动，这实际上为我们在谈论的所有那些资产提供了保障。
我认为，这种需求增长的大局意义可能被低估了——它能带来多大的盈利潜力。即使仅从年初至今来看，许多中游企业已开始将今年的EBITDA增长预期从2%或3%上调至4%或5%.3 我们相信，这种趋势将持续下去。
这些都是实物资产。如果您拥有一个集输系统或储油罐等资产，并且在通胀环境下，两年后竞争对手想超越您会比较困难，因为他们建设这些资产的成本会更高。因此，这里存在天然的通胀对冲。此外，许多此类资产的费用结构中都有直接与消费者价格指数或生产者价格指数挂钩的组成部分，这使得在通胀环境中能够获得缓解。
你必须考虑这些资产在不同宏观环境下的表现。因此，我们总是同时运行一个悲观情景和一个“我们认为世界将会如何发展”的情景。这创造了一个理解范围，我们希望看到我们在这两种情景中获得的估值与当前交易价格的对比。当我们发现，与今天的股价相比，悲观情景的下行空间不大时，我们便认为这是一个有吸引力的机会。如果我们看到较大差距，我们会变得更为谨慎，或许就不那么感兴趣了。这就是我们的分析方式。
获取SteelPath团队关于中游能源行业的月度评论，并探索该团队的各种策略。
来源：彭博社，截至30,年2026月。
来源：彭博社，截至30,年2026月。
来源：公司报告和财报，截至2026年7月。
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当您与我们互动时，我们可能会收集有关您的信息，这些信息在适用法律法规下构成个人数据。我们的隐私声明解释了我们如何使用和保护您的个人数据。
所表达的观点是发言者的观点，基于截至16,年2026,月当前市场状况，并可能随时更改，恕不另行通知。这些观点可能与其他Invesco投资专业人士的观点有所不同。
这并不构成对任何特定投资者的任何投资策略或产品的推荐。投资者在做出任何投资决定前，应咨询金融专业人士。如果本内容包含任何前瞻性陈述，请注意它们并非对未来结果的保证。它们涉及风险、不确定性和假设。无法保证实际结果与预期不会有重大差异。
所有投资都涉及风险，包括本金损失的风险。
过往业绩并不保证未来结果。
投资不能直接投资于指数。
多元化投资并不保证盈利或消除损失风险。
业主有限合伙（或MLP）是一种公开交易的有限合伙企业，其中有限合伙人提供资本并从MLP的现金流中获得定期收入分配，而普通合伙人管理MLP的事务并获得与其业绩挂钩的补偿。
大多数MLP在能源领域运营，并受到该领域公司通常面临的风险影响，包括大宗商品定价风险、供需风险、耗竭风险和勘探风险。MLP还面临监管或立法变更可能消除MLP享有的税收优惠的风险，这可能对MLP可用于分配的税后收入和/或投资组合投资的价值产生负面影响。
大宗商品可能使投资者比传统证券（如股票和债券）面临更大波动，并可能根据天气、政治、税收以及其他监管和市场发展而大幅波动。
一般来说，股票价值会波动，有时波动幅度很大，这既应对于公司特定的活动，也应对应于总体市场、经济和政策环境。
在自2020以来的时期中，当通胀率超过3%时，Alerian MLP基础设施指数（或AMZ指数）在八个时期中的七个时期跑赢了标普500指数，据彭博有限合伙企业截至2025的数据。
EBITDA是息税折旧摊销前利润的缩写。
Alerian MLP基础设施指数是能源基础设施业主有限合伙企业的综合指数。
消费者价格指数（或CPI）衡量消费者价格的变化，是衡量通胀的常用指标。
生产者价格指数（PPI）衡量国内生产者为其产出收到的销售价格随时间的平均变化。
西德克萨斯中质原油（或WTI）是一种来自美国的轻质低硫原油。
非存款 | 非FDIC保险 | 银行不担保 | 可能损失价值 | 任何联邦政府机构均不投保
Midstream energy companies may be less tied to oil prices than many investors assume. They have delivered positive performance even when oil prices dropped.
Data centers are driving natural gas-fired electricity demand, which has major implications for liquefied natural gas demand and facility expansion.
The fee structure for many midstream assets is tied to the Consumer Price Index or Producer Price Index, which helps provide relief in inflationary environments.
Think all energy-related companies are driven by the same market forces? It’s time to rethink that view. Brian Watson of Invesco’s SteelPath team joined the Greater Possibilities podcast to discuss the often-overlooked world of midstream energy infrastructure — the systems that help move, store, process, and export the oil and gas people rely on every day.
We discussed why these companies may be less tied to oil prices than many investors assume, how rising demand for liquefied natural gas and reliable power is shaping the long-term opportunity, and how midstream businesses can offer potential income, real asset exposure, and a differentiated role in diversified portfolios.
Listen to the full conversation and read the highlights from Brian below.
Hello, I'm Danielle Singer, head of wealth management platforms at Invesco, and this is Rethink Portfolios, a series from the Greater Possibilities podcast. This show brings you inside the decision-making process of portfolio managers through in-depth conversations that explore how our experts manage risks, identify opportunities, and navigate ever-changing markets.
Our guest today is Brian Watson, a managing director and senior portfolio manager for the SteelPath team at Invesco. The SteelPath team invests in midstream energy infrastructure. These are the systems that move, store, process, and export oil and gas. Now, energy has been one of the biggest market stories of the year so far, and the midstream energy space represents a unique part of this industry. So let's welcome Brian to explain the ins and outs of midstream and how this year's geopolitical pressures have and have not had an impact.
Now, let's start with the basics. Your team, like I mentioned, focuses solely on midstream energy infrastructure. For the listeners' benefit, what does that mean? What's the role that these companies play in the space? And importantly, how do these businesses make money?
Yeah, so I think the easiest way to think about this for somebody who hasn't really thought through it yet is imagine you're a producer in West Texas and drill a well for oil. So out of that well is going to come oil and then all this other stuff, and we'll say primarily natural gas. So that oil has to be gathered. That's a midstream function. There's a fee for that. And then that oil has to be moved for a long distance to a refining center. That's a fee for that. That's a pipeline, usually. It could be in a truck.
And that oil will have to be terminaled or stored and to be ready for the refinery to actually get around to using it. That's fee for terminaling, fee for storage. Sometimes there's blending, there's a fee for that. So that's that whole string of logistics to get that oil from the well to the refinery. And then think about the natural gas. So the producer's drilling for oil, but he gets natural gas. But that natural gas isn't ready to be used. The utility wants almost pure methane, and you and I, when we turn our stove top, we want just methane.
But in that natural gas is all these other hydrocarbons. So you’ve got to process that natural gas. That's a midstream service, that's a fee. That natural gas, once it's cleaned up and it's mostly methane, that makes its way, like oil does to its consumer — fee. It has to be stored ready for usage — fee. But then all that other stuff that was in the natural gas, these are propanes and ethanes, butanes, all that stuff has to be separated. Fractionation, that's a fee. All of those individual products have to make their way to their end markets — fee, fee, fee.
Those products are going to be terminaled and stored for their users to get around to using them and the time that they want to use them. That's a fee. And particularly for LPGs is what all those things are, propane, methane, butane. More and more, we're exporting those. And so you're going to need somebody that takes that to a dock and loads it onto a ship. That's often a midstream service. That's a fee, fee, fee.
And now think about the ... We left the oil in the refinery where that oil's going to come out of the refinery as gasoline or diesel, a handful of other products, and all that's going to make its way to its end markets. Gasoline has to make its way to the different cities, and the truck racks that load that to the truck that pulls up to the fuel station fee for the transportation fee for the truck rack. So you can see how this goes on and on. It's one of these enormous logistics chains that are ... No step can be missed, and they have to run 24/7, but people just don't think about it. But that's what midstream is.
As an investment character, the most important part is it's a must run, high utilization, fees almost entirely for the services offered. And there's a lot of operating leverage. So once you've built these big assets that do this stuff, incremental volume is very profitable.
Wow. I got a visual there. This fee collecting sounds like it should have maybe some cha-ching, cha-ching noises along the way. I loved your illustration of, picture yourself in West Texas. I think maybe I've been watching too much TV because I got some vivid imagery there.
If we talk about energy investments, I think a lot of people might assume then that there's a big linkage with oil prices. Can you maybe touch on what influence, if any, we do see between midstream companies and commodity prices?
Yeah, so I think as we discussed there, the majority of the times I said fee was related to helping that natural gas enter market. So if you look at the midstream sector, we calculated this not that long ago, and I'm pretty sure it's about the same, but 75% by market cap of midstream companies are involved in the natural gas side of things. It's moving the gas, handing the natural gas liquids, the LPGs, all that stuff.
So it's really mostly most of the guys are making money servicing natural gas comes out of the ground. So the price of crude really is less important to the industry. I would say we've had periods where the price of crude, regardless of its impact on actual operating profits, has influenced stock price reactions, however. I think I've been doing this for, I guess, energy investing since the mid-90s and managing midstream portfolios for almost 20 years. And early in my career, I would say that if crude was up and down, a midstream company might be up and down similar but just way less impactful.
Then we went through this period where it was very volatile, and we can get into that. I've got my suspicions why, but really for the last four or five years, we haven't seen really either. And I don't know if that's because investors have gotten more smart on the asset class and they realize what's driving what. Maybe it's the ... We've talked a lot about in the broader investing world about natural gas demand and investors that understood that, but we've definitely seen a de-linkage in the equity prices to the price of crude.
I went back and looked. So if you look at 2021 through June quarter ended 2026, there are 11 negative WTI quarters and AMZ, which is the primary midstream index, was only down 36% of those instances. So, really, about a third of the time. And, in fact, if you averaged the AMZ performance for each of these negative WTI quarters, it was still positive, plus 1.5%. So ...
... it feels that way. And then we did a little analysis to see how we experienced it was true, and it is. So I'm happy to see it. For a long time, it was a frustration to see that sector reaction outsize the changes in crude prices when we knew, operationally, it wasn't as big of a deal, but we've really seen it here in the last few years.
That's interesting. What I'm picking up on is on some themes of diversification, and we're going to pick that back up when we start talking about portfolio construction a bit more in a few minutes. What I do want to focus on while we're still in the macro viewpoint on this asset class is that we hear in the news a lot about how important the US has been as one of the world's largest energy exporters. How does that change or does it change the long-term opportunity for midstream companies?
Yeah, it's driving, I think, sentiment currently. So if you look at the US, we are now I think the world's largest producer of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids that we talked about earlier. We are actually, I think, something like 16% of the total gasoline export market. US exports of gasoline have increased over 80% in the last 10 years. So that's great. It really acts as a clearing mechanism for the US producer. They know they're not trapped by just US consumption.
LPGs, I went through that scenario so people would think about what LPGs are, but we are the globe's dominant LPG exporter. Over 50% of the globe's export market is US LPGs. Represents a good portion of LPG production in the United States. So again, an outlet for US producers, very helpful. And then for LNG, we are the world's largest LNG exporter now and account for roughly 25% of exports, which is growing fairly rapidly. So all good for the US producer, all really good for the US, the global economies that have this to satisfy demand.
And I know we're going to talk about it a little bit more, but really that LNG export capacity and the planned additions we think are really, really meaningful for midstream because this provides a volume draw or volume certainty for all these midstream assets.
Yeah, and I think we get right into it. So when we're thinking about LNG or liquefied natural gas export growth, how is this impacting your outlook? Just to continue to pull on that thread a bit.
Yeah, so the country has had periods where natural gas volumes produced and then through midstream increased pretty rapidly. But if you think about it, it was really pushed through by producers. So the producers figured out how to access all this new production through shale development. It's a whole different discussion, but essentially, we untapped the source rock for all oil and gas, which is shale. And through technology, the US went from being an assumed forever declines of production to dominating the globe as a producer.
But that natural gas volume had to force its way into the market through price. The producers were producing it. And so they just had to beat up price until consumers took it. And what we're looking at today is a expansion of demand through LNG facilities, which we talked about. LNG is how gas is exported. It has to be liquefied and, therefore, compacted to be efficiently put onto a boat. These LNG facilities are billions and billions of dollars and they don't build them until they have offtake agreements.
So once you've built it, it's going to go. And so the US is leading in that area. I think we've got about 18 BCF of export capacity now. We've got 18 BCF that's FID or ready to go that's under construction, and we're building probables behind that. So it's a very long runway for natural gas demand growth through LNG alone.
And then what's gained more notice in the last few years is the power generation growth the United States is experiencing after really flat electricity demand growth for decades. And this electricity is going to be met in large part by substantially through natural gas fire generation. We're already seeing those commitments. And that's a new source of natural gas demand. The data centers that are driving this must run 24/7 type power users, and so they need that kind of power.
So put together, estimates are all over the place. LNG is fairly estimatable, but data center power generation growth is more of a guess. But we're looking at somewhere between 3% to 4% annual increases in natural gas demand just from this demand pool, really, for the foreseeable future for as long as people are trying to estimate. And that's really healthy because we're not having a producer that's shoving it into the market. This is going to be drawn by these users, which really underwrites all those assets we're talking about.
We can see today all these long-haul pipelines that are long lead time for construction being built and committed to. And what maybe is missing is that all that production is going to have to come from the equivalent of that example of that West Texas producer. So all of those assets along the line are going to be utilized to satisfy this very visible demand growth.
Yeah, it's a really interesting demand story. And we've just talked about it a little bit more with the US specifically, but maybe to put that into context and the role of the US energy infrastructure in context of recent geopolitical events, which I think have really propelled energy security back into the spotlight. So just any thoughts on the US's role vis-a-vis the broader relative global energy needs.
Yeah, I think, obviously, security of supply has become front and center for a lot of global users. What's happened with the Strait (of Hormuz) and conflict in the Middle East, I think you're already seeing some of those producers begin to pursue alternative routes, I guess, for the production, but we've seen interest in LNG offtake, US LNG offtake, potentially. Those are decisions that were driven by seeing the US as a safe exporter.
And I suspect those decisions are just now beginning. I mean, when you think about nation states and planning for their future, that will probably play out for years to come in those decision making. In the near term, we just know the globe has drawn down immensely on reserves, I think. I was trying to find a number for this and they're all over the place, but it looks like something close to a billion barrels of oil reserves have been drawn down since the beginning of the conflict.
So if nothing else, the globe is going to look to refill those reserves. And I know India and China have both announced the intent to expand what they previously held as reserve. So I suspect, A, you'll have the ... I think US will likely benefit on the margin for becoming the new provider either through LPGs, or gasoline, or LNG, but also, it's just going to be a lot of demand globally to refill these reserves and potentially expand reserves to protect themselves the next time something like this might happen.
Yeah, very interesting macro story for this space. We've also now learned about how these companies make their money. Let's talk about the portfolio construction elements of this. Where do you think midstream fits within a diversified portfolio? Are your clients and investors thinking of them as stocks, real assets, income investments, alternatives, all of the above? How do we start to contextualize this for people trying to think about this for a portfolio?
Yeah, I guess all the above might be a decent answer, but historically, midstream companies are known for their healthy dividends. That's what originally attracted investors to them. That's still really important part of their story. As growth opportunities arise, sometimes these guys might hold off on growing their dividends as aggressively as they could. But once those things are completed, they usually go back to that dividend growth.
So, ultimately, they're, I think, mostly known as dividend payers where that dividend grows pretty reliably. Some of these guys are structured as partnerships. And so I've gotten the question, do those trade like the C corps just in case somebody's wondering. They do. Companies in this sector, some are corps, some are partnerships, but all the ones that we invest in are publicly listed, trade on major exchanges. So they trade like any other public equity, but the characteristics would definitely lean towards that healthy dividend payer.
I would say historically would compete with utilities and an investor's portfolio, particularly with the disconnect we've been able to see to broader energy group and crude old prices. Hopefully, a little bit of a alternative nature there as it doesn't get pulled around so much with the price of crude or how the NASDAQ's doing or whatever. It's disconnected from those influences.
So you touched a lot on income. When we speak to investors, another topic that comes up is inflation. So if we think about this as that real asset exposure, how might you think about its characteristics in an inflationary environment?
Yeah, historically, the sector has had a good run in a inflationary environment. I mean, I think part of that is the commodity price environment's usually healthy. So even though we pointed to really not a lot of direct connection, I think from a market sentiment perspective, that sometimes helped.
These are real assets. So if you've got a gathering system or storage tanks, all that kind of stuff, and you're in inflationary environment, well, it's difficult two years down the road for some competitor to try to beat you out because it would cost them more to build that asset. So there's a natural inflation hedge there. And then a lot of these assets have quite literal components of their fee structures that are tied to CPI or PPI that allow relief in inflationary environments.
So usually, the sector does well in that environment. We've looked at it numerous times. I think the correlation isn't really one way or the other, but I think there's an underlying operational benefit that can help.
Very interesting. Now, we've talked about this space in more broad brush strokes, but not all of these companies, I assume, are created equal. So when you're selecting investments, what separates a high-quality midstream company from the rest?
We've always used a scenario analysis heavy process. So I've done this long enough to know that nobody knows what the price of these commodities are going to be tomorrow or almost anything what's going to be tomorrow. So you have to think about how these assets might perform in different macro environments. And so we always run a bear case and what we think the world's going to look like case.
That creates this range of understanding we think of it as, and we want to see how that valuation that we're getting in those two scenarios compares to how it's trading. And when we see that there isn't very much downside to our bear case compared to where the stock is trading today, we view that as an attractive opportunity. If we see a big gap, we'll get more nervous about that and maybe won't be as interested. So that's how we look at it.
When you do that long enough, you start to see there are certain asset types that perform really well in those analyses and some asset types that don't. But ultimately, we're going to rely on this scenario analysis to make sure we really understand how these different businesses might perform. We want to take an asymmetric exposure, asymmetric risk. We want to own the names where we see if things work out, we got a lot more upside in the name, at least fundamentally, than downside if the basic macro factors go against us.
Sure. And thanks for sharing with the listeners that disciplined approach. Maybe just a couple more things as we start to wrap this up. We talked about partnerships. What do you believe is the most misunderstood aspect of MLP investing today?
Yeah. To me, it's the ... We went through this period, I guess I don't know how to define exactly, 2014 to 2018, '19, where as I was alluding to before, there's a lot more volatility in the sector. I think probably there's a lot of investors that were involved then that don't realize that really that hasn't happened so much anymore. I think the reasons for that are many, but I'm sure part of it is that back in that time, a lot of these midstream guys paid most of their free cash as dividends.
And so when there was disruptions in the market, investors would get very nervous that something might happen to that dividend. Didn't want to be around for the market reaction to that. And today, we see that we just don't have that much of a concern in that regard. Most of these guys have very healthy dividend coverage. So, in other words, when you look at the free cashflow being earned versus that being paid out, go back six, seven, eight years ago, there's 1.1, pretty tight coverage today, that group is averaging close to two. So just a really healthy coverage.
I think that's a big difference and probably one of the reasons why we see so much less correlation to the commodity in the last few years. Balance sheets are healthy. I think maybe some people remember a time where they levered up more, didn't have as much of that free cash flow to help pay for capital spending. So I think probably just these basic, not business structure, but the operating practices of the industry, I think maybe people don't realize it's changed as drastically as it has in the last decade or so.
And probably the exposure that the group has to what I think is a very low-risk ramp of natural gas production demand growth and production growth to meet it.
Sure. And maybe related to that question, not that you do have a crystal ball, but you have lots of experience and wisdom in this space. If you think out three, five years and look back, what opportunity in the midstream space do you think investors are most under-appreciating? Or what would you say to maybe some of the skeptics in the listener cohort about this space in the next few years?
Yeah, I guess it would be ... I mean, the big picture of just what this demand growth means, I think, is probably being underestimated how profitable it can be. We talked about it for a moment, but there's this concept of operating leverage, and it's really powerful. So even just year-to-date, a lot of these midstream guys have started to take up current year EBITDA growth from a 2% or 3% to 4% or 5%. Well, we believe that kind of trend is going to keep going. 3% or 4% underlying growth in the volume for natural gas, we believe, is materially more than that for EBITDA.
So I think that the exposure, the profitability of this outlook for natural gas demand growth, is probably being underestimated. And then also I think the breadth of the beneficiaries is perhaps being a little bit underestimated. Not to get too much into the weeds, but we see some of these companies that have very visible long-haul pipelines were labeled to tell the market, "We've signed this customer, we're going to build it. Here's the end service date." They're starting to get some credit for that, maybe not as much as they ought to.
But then you see companies that are closer to the wellhead who are more dependent upon that producer telling them what their plans are for the next six months or 12 months that aren't quite getting that credit in our opinion, but obviously, it's not going to make it to that long-haul pipeline unless it comes out of the ground. So I think there's a bit of a disconnect there that we're trying to take advantage of. So generally speaking, how profitable I think this phase can be and then also how broad the beneficiaries are likely to be from this as things people are missing.
Well, much appreciated, and we'll hopefully check back with you before the next three to five years. But for now, it's been an absolute pleasure. For those of us in New York and outside of Texas, this may not be an area that we think of every day. So thanks for sharing your insights and much appreciated. Catch you all next time.
You've been listening to Invesco's Greater Possibilities podcast, Rethink Portfolios.
The opinions expressed are those of the speakers, are based on current market conditions as of July 16, 2026, and are subject to change without notice. These opinions may differ from those of other Invesco investment professionals.
This does not constitute a recommendation of any investment strategy or product for a particular investor. Investors should consult a financial professional before making any investment decisions. Should this content contain any forward looking statements, understand that they are not guarantees of future results. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from expectations.
All investing involves risk, including the risk of loss.
Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Investments cannot be made directly in an index.
Diversification does not guarantee a profit or eliminate the risk of loss.
A master limited partnership (or MLP) is a publicly traded limited partnership in which the limited partner provides capital and receives periodic income distributions from the MLP's cash flow, and the general partner manages the MLP's affairs and receives compensation linked to its performance.
Most MLPs operate in the energy sector and are subject to the risks generally applicable to companies in that sector, including commodity pricing risk, supply and demand risk, depletion risk and exploration risk. MLPs are also subject to the risk that regulatory or legislative changes could eliminate the tax benefits enjoyed by MLPs, which could have a negative impact on the after-tax income available for distribution by the MLPs and/or the value of the portfolio’s investments.
Commodities may subject an investor to greater volatility than traditional securities such as stocks and bonds and can fluctuate significantly based on weather, political, tax, and other regulatory and market developments.
In general, stock values fluctuate, sometimes widely, in response to activities specific to the company as well as general market, economic and political conditions.
Discussion of midstream companies involved in natural gas sourced from Bloomberg L.P. as of June 30, 2026.
Discussion of the performance of the AMZ Index during quarters when oil prices dropped sourced from Bloomberg L.P. as of June 30, 2026.
Statistics about the size of US gasoline exports sourced from the US Energy Information Administration as of June 30, 2026.
Statistics about the size of US LPG and LNG exports sourced from S&P Global Commodities at Sea as of April 2026, and the US Energy Information Administration as of June 30, 2026, respectively.
Statistics about US LNG export capacity under construction sourced from the International Energy Agency as of June 2026.
Statistics about natural gas demand from data centers sourced from RBC Capital Markets as of May 2026.
Statistics on oil reserve drawdowns during the Middle East conflict sourced from Reuters, the US. Energy Information Administration, and the International Energy Agency as of July 2026.
During periods since 2020 when inflation exceeded 3%, the Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index (or AMZ Index) outperformed the S&P 500 in seven of eight periods, according to Bloomberg L.P. as of December 2025.
The 10-year average yield for midstream MLPs is 8.5% with 3.1% annual distribution growth. Sourced from Wells Fargo Securities as of June 30, 2026, for the 10-year period ending December 31, 2025.
Comments on midstream company EBITDA growth sourced from company reports and earnings reports as of July 2026.
Statistics on dividend coverage sourced from Wells Fargo Securities as of June 30, 2026
The Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index is a composite of energy infrastructure Master Limited Partnerships.
The Consumer Price Index (or CPI) measures the change in consumer prices and is a commonly cited measure of inflation.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures the average change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers for their output.
Correlation is the degree to which two investments have historically moved in relation to each other.
EBITDA is the acronym for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
Free cash flow is a measure of financial performance calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures.
Operating leverage measures a firm’s reliance on fixed and variable costs.
West Texas Intermediate (or WTI) is a type of light, sweet crude oil that comes from the US.
FID stands for final investment decision, meaning that a construction project has received investment approvals.
A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.
Cash flow is the net amount of cash and cash equivalents generated by a business.
Leverage measures a company’s total debt relative to the company’s book value.
Rethink Markets and the Greater Possibilities Podcast are brought to you by Invesco Distributors, Inc.
Seventy-five percent, by market cap, of midstream companies are involved in the natural gas side of things.1 It's moving the gas, handing the natural gas liquids, the liquified petroleum gases … so the price of crude really is less important to the industry. If you look at 2021 through the quarter ending in June 2026, there are 11 negative West Texas Intermediate oil price (WTI) quarters. The Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index (AMZ), which is the primary midstream index, was only down in 36% of those instances.2 So about a third of the time. And, in fact, if you averaged the AMZ performance for each of these negative WTI quarters, it was still positive, plus 1.5%.2
The country has had periods where natural gas volumes increased pretty rapidly. But it was really pushed through by producers — the producers figured out how to access all this new production through shale development. But that natural gas volume had to force its way into the market through price. The producers were producing it and they just had to beat up price until consumers took it. What we're looking at today is an expansion of demand through liquified natural gas (LNG) facilities … The data centers that are driving this are must-run, 24/7-type power users, and so they need that kind of power. And that's really healthy because we're not having a producer that's shoving it into the market. This is going to be drawn by these users, which really underwrites all those assets we're talking about.
The big picture of just what this demand growth means, I think, is probably being underestimated — how profitable it can be. Even just year-to-date, a lot of these midstream guys have started to take current year EBITDA growth up from 2% or 3% to 4% or 5%.3 Well, we believe that kind of trend is going to keep going.
These are real assets. If you've got a gathering system or storage tanks, all that kind of stuff, and you're in inflationary environment, it's difficult two years down the road for some competitor to try to beat you out because it would cost them more to build that asset. So there's a natural inflation hedge there. And then a lot of these assets have quite literal components of their fee structures that are tied to the Consumer Price Index or Producer Price Index that allow relief in inflationary environments.
You have to think about how these assets might perform in different macro environments. And so we always run a bear case and a “what we think the world's going to look like” case. That creates this range of understanding, and we want to see how that valuation that we're getting in those two scenarios compares to how it's trading. And when we see that there isn't very much downside to our bear case compared to where the stock is trading today, we view that as an attractive opportunity. If we see a big gap, we'll get more nervous about that and maybe won't be as interested. So that's how we look at it.
Get the SteelPath team’s monthly commentary on the midstream energy industry and explore various strategies from the team.
Source: Bloomberg L.P. as of June 30, 2026.
Source: Bloomberg L.P. as of June 30, 2026.
Source: Company reports and earnings reports as of July 2026.
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The opinions expressed are those of the speakers, are based on current market conditions as of July 16, 2026, and are subject to change without notice. These opinions may differ from those of other Invesco investment professionals.
This does not constitute a recommendation of any investment strategy or product for a particular investor. Investors should consult a financial professional before making any investment decisions. Should this content contain any forward looking statements, understand that they are not guarantees of future results. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from expectations.
All investing involves risk, including the risk of loss.
Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Investments cannot be made directly in an index.
Diversification does not guarantee a profit or eliminate the risk of loss.
A master limited partnership (or MLP) is a publicly traded limited partnership in which the limited partner provides capital and receives periodic income distributions from the MLP's cash flow, and the general partner manages the MLP's affairs and receives compensation linked to its performance.
Most MLPs operate in the energy sector and are subject to the risks generally applicable to companies in that sector, including commodity pricing risk, supply and demand risk, depletion risk and exploration risk. MLPs are also subject to the risk that regulatory or legislative changes could eliminate the tax benefits enjoyed by MLPs, which could have a negative impact on the after-tax income available for distribution by the MLPs and/or the value of the portfolio’s investments.
Commodities may subject an investor to greater volatility than traditional securities such as stocks and bonds and can fluctuate significantly based on weather, political, tax, and other regulatory and market developments.
In general, stock values fluctuate, sometimes widely, in response to activities specific to the company as well as general market, economic and political conditions.
During periods since 2020 when inflation exceeded 3%, the Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index (or AMZ Index) outperformed the S&P 500 in seven of eight periods, according to Bloomberg L.P. as of December 2025.
EBITDA is the acronym for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
The Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index is a composite of energy infrastructure Master Limited Partnerships.
The Consumer Price Index (or CPI) measures the change in consumer prices and is a commonly cited measure of inflation.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures the average change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers for their output.
West Texas Intermediate (or WTI) is a type of light, sweet crude oil that comes from the US.
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