By Saikeerthi . and Roshia Sabu

April 17 (Reuters) - Pipeline and terminal operator

Kinder Morgan ( KMI ) on Wednesday reaffirmed its annual profit

outlook and said it expects demand for natural gas to grow

substantially between now and 2030.

The company, which operates about 79,000 miles of pipelines,

said it is banking on growth in electric demand primarily driven

by demand from new and expanding data centers, especially those

required to support AI.

Houston, Texas-based Kinder Morgan ( KMI ) had said in January it

continues to have a bullish outlook for natural gas demand due

to demand from LNG export facilities and increased exports from

Mexico.

This comes at a time when natural gas prices

declined 20.4% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to a year

earlier.

"Increase in AI demand per management could lead to a 7-16

bcf/d increase in gas demand by 2030 adding another growth

driver alongside US LNG exports" says Stephen Ellis, analyst at

Morningstar.

The company reaffirmed its 2024 profit forecast at $1.22 per

share, which it had raised in January to reflect the acquisition

of NextEra Energy Partners' ( NEP ) STX Midstream assets.

Kinder Morgan ( KMI ) also met the first-quarter profit estimates,

helped by higher volumes in its natural gas pipelines segment.

The natural gas pipeline segment saw a boost from higher

margins realized on the company's storage assets and higher

volumes on its gathering systems, with additional boost from the

STX Midstream acquisition, it said.

Adjusted core profit from the company's natural gas pipeline

segment was $1.52 billion, versus $1.43 billion a year ago.

"The interesting thing on the call is that KMI expects to

carry lower levels of debt into the future, potentially getting

higher ratings from credit agencies and better feedback from

investors" said Bill Selesky, analyst at Argus Research.

Kinder Morgan ( KMI ) reported an adjusted profit of 34 cents per

share for the January-to-March quarter, in line with the LSEG

estimates, and approved a 2% increase to its quarterly dividend.