Every lasting company needs both a dreamer and a dealmaker. At Energy Transfer, Kelcy Warren and Ray C. Davis divided those roles from the start. A 2023 Hart Energy profile, part of the publication’s 50th anniversary Hall of Fame series, traced how the partnership formed and what each man contributed.
Their paths crossed during a difficult moment. Warren was working at Endevco, a pipeline and refining company facing financial trouble, and he had been tasked with locating a buyer. Davis and fellow investor Ben Cook entered the picture during that process.
From Sellers to Owners
The search took an unexpected turn. Warren joined Davis and Cook to purchase Endevco themselves. They gave it a new identity and later sold it for more than they paid. Those proceeds became the foundation for Energy Transfer, launched in 1996 with roughly 200 miles of natural gas pipe in East Texas.
Davis managed the business side in the early going. Kelcy Warren supplied the long-range thinking, envisioning the largest network of pipelines and export hubs on the continent. Davis, who now owns Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers, once told the Houston Chronicle that Warren “doesn’t think like other people.”
A Vision Put Into Practice
That outlook guided decades of expansion. Energy Transfer bought heavily after Enron’s collapse, picking up the Houston Pipeline System, Transwestern Pipeline and other systems. It diversified into natural gas liquids when gas prices fell, then moved into crude oil with the $5.3 billion Sunoco purchase in 2012.
Later deals brought in Regency Energy Partners, USA Compression Partners, Enable Midstream and Crestwood Equity Partners, among others. Organic projects, including the Dakota Access Pipeline, filled in the gaps.
Kelcy Warren remains executive chairman and still talks about acquisitions with clear enthusiasm. He told Hart Energy that while the pool of attractive targets keeps shrinking, a few remaining assets would suit the company very well. Close to three decades after its 1996 founding, the partnership’s original idea continues to shape the company. Read this article for more information.
Find more information about Kelcy Warren on https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/kelcy-l-warren/