The Permian Basin is undergoing a quiet but powerful transformation. What began as an oil-led shale boom has become one of the world’s fastest-growing natural gas provinces. And few signals make that clearer than Targa Resources’ newly advancing YETI Gas Plant in Winkler County, Texas.
In early January 2026, Targa Delaware LLC filed a Standard Permit air authorization for the YETI Gas Plant — formally kicking off regulatory approval for what will be one of the most important new gas processing facilities in the Permian Delaware Basin.
But this permit filing is more than just paperwork. It is the physical expression of what Targa has already told Wall Street: Permian gas volumes are growing faster than existing infrastructure can handle.
What the YETI air permit tells us
Targa’s filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is an Initial Standard Permit for a brand-new oil and gas production facility. This is the air authorization required to build and operate a full-scale natural gas processing plant — including compression, dehydration, cryogenic processing, and NGL recovery.
The permit places the YETI Gas Plant 13.5 miles southwest of Kermit, Texas, in Winkler County, right in the heart of the Delaware Basin’s gas corridor. This is one of the most heavily drilled and fastest-growing gas production regions in North America.
Importantly, Targa requested expedited permitting, paying additional fees to push the project through regulatory review faster — a clear signal that construction timelines and long-lead equipment procurement are already underway.
This is not a speculative filing. This is the type of permit companies file when they are actively preparing to build.
Why Targa is building YETI
Targa confirmed the strategic importance of YETI during its Q3-2025 earnings call with investors.
CEO Matt Meloy directly tied YETI to Permian growth, stating that Targa had announced several major expansion projects, including:
“The Yeti gas processing plant in Texas in the Permian Delaware…”
This plant is not being built in isolation. It is part of a fully integrated Permian expansion that includes new pipelines, fractionation capacity, and export infrastructure.
The reason is simple: the Permian is producing more gas than the existing system can move and process.
What Targa told Wall Street about the Permian
Targa’s latest investor update revealed just how powerful the Permian growth engine has become.
They reported that:
- Permian natural gas volumes increased by more than 340 million cubic feet per day year-over-year
- NGL volumes rose by about 180,000 barrels per day
- Total Permian inlet volumes now average 6.6 billion cubic feet per day
Even more important is what comes next.
Targa told investors they expect:
- At least 10% growth in Permian volumes in 2025
- Another year of low double-digit growth in 2026
And that growth is being driven by a structural shift:
Rising gas-to-oil ratios across the basin
In other words, every new well drilled is producing more gas than before — and that gas has to go somewhere.
Why the Delaware Basin matters
Targa confirmed that growth is now strongest in the Delaware Basin, which includes Winkler County, where YETI will be built.
They told investors that:
- Both the Midland and Delaware will see strong growth
- But the Delaware is currently leading
That is why Targa is building YETI where it is — right in the center of the Permian’s most gas-intensive drilling zone.
YETI is not speculative capacity
Targa made one more crucial point:
Their processing plants currently under construction are expected to be “much needed at startup” and “highly utilized.”
That means YETI is not excess capacity waiting for drilling to catch up.
It is being built because:
- Producers have already committed volumes
- Acreage has already been dedicated
- Gas is already flowing — and more is coming
The bigger picture
YETI sits at the intersection of three powerful forces:
- Exploding Permian gas production
- Rising global LNG demand
- Growing U.S. power and data-center gas consumption
Targa is positioning itself as the backbone of this system — moving gas from the wellhead in West Texas to LNG docks, petrochemical plants, and power generators around the world.
The YETI Gas Plant is one of the steel-and-concrete building blocks of that future.
And thanks to this new air permit in Winkler County, we now know it is no longer just an idea — it is becoming a reality.
