A giant pipeline project being developed by Kinder Morgan to carry natural gas from the Permian basin to the US Gulf coast is closer to a final investment decision after US supermajor ExxonMobil signed a preliminary agreement to support the project.

The deal would allow ExxonMobil subsidiary XTO to contract for up to 450,000 dekatherms per day of capacity on the pipeline, providing the US supermajor with a takeaway option for its Permian production, which it intends to triple in the next five years.