Is NGL a Buy or a Sell? The Bull and Bear Case (2026)

That depends on which case you find more convincing, and both are on this page. The bull case rests on Permian produced-water volumes under long contracts, with revenue (ttm) at ~$3.5B (continuing operations). The bear case rests on financial risk dominates here: long-term debt sits near $3.3 billion against about $5 million of cash, interest expense ran roughly $257 million in fiscal 2026, and total partners' capital is a deficit of about $237 million, meaning book equity is negative. If you believe the thesis, the real questions become sizing and overlap rather than timing. Walnut is not an investment adviser and this is not a recommendation.

Nobody can answer that for you, and the honest version of the question is narrower: has anything changed in the reason you bought it? The bear case on this page is the place to check. Financial risk dominates here: long-term debt sits near $3.3 billion against about $5 million of cash, interest expense ran roughly $257 million in fiscal 2026, and total partners' capital is a deficit of about $237 million, meaning book equity is negative. If that risk is what you were worried about and it is now playing out, that is a real signal. If the price simply fell while the thesis held, that is a different situation entirely. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Permian produced-water volumes under long contracts. Water Solutions processed about 3.32 million barrels per day of produced water in the June 2026 quarter, up roughly 20% from a year earlier, with the Delaware Basin supplying almost 3.0 million of that.

Financial risk dominates here: long-term debt sits near $3.3 billion against about $5 million of cash, interest expense ran roughly $257 million in fiscal 2026, and total partners' capital is a deficit of about $237 million, meaning book equity is negative. Class B, Class C and Class D preferred units all rank ahead of the common units for distributions and liquidation proceeds, and no common distribution can be declared until preferred obligations are current. Fiscal 2026 closed with a net loss attributable to NGL of about $142 million, driven largely by a $256 million loss on disposal and impairment of assets concentrated in Crude Oil Logistics, and the trailing twelve months still show a net loss near $132 million. Operationally, disposal volumes depend on customer drilling activity and crude prices, while injection wells face induced-seismicity scrutiny: on July 29, 2026, TOG Operating and Titus Oil & Gas III sued NGL and two Water Solutions subsidiaries in Reeves County, Texas, alleging that saltwater disposal flooded Titus's mineral estate, and filed a parallel complaint asking the Railroad Commission of Texas to terminate or suspend certain injection permits. NGL denies the allegations, no discovery has occurred and no accrual has been recorded, but an adverse permitting outcome in the Delaware Basin would strike the segment that now carries the partnership. Units have also risen roughly fourfold from their 52-week low, so expectations embedded in the price are considerably higher than they were a year ago.

NGL Energy Partners LP is a Tulsa-based master limited partnership focused on produced water disposal and liquids logistics.

Decide that in advance, because it is far harder to think clearly once a position is moving against you. The concrete tripwires here: the driver behind the bull case (Permian produced-water volumes under long contracts) stalling in the reported numbers rather than in the narrative, the risk above (financial risk dominates here: long-term debt sits near $3.3 billion against about $5 million of cash, interest expense ran roughly $257 million in fiscal 2026, and total partners' capital is a deficit of about $237 million, meaning book equity is negative) turning from a possibility into a reported fact, or the position growing large enough that a bad outcome would matter to your whole portfolio regardless of who is right.

NGL runs three businesses, though one now dominates. Water Solutions gathers, treats, recycles and disposes of produced water from oil and gas drilling across 91 facilities and 202 injection wells, mostly in the Delaware Basin. Crude Oil Logistics buys and transports crude, anchored by the Grand Mesa Pipeline. Liquids Logistics supplies natural gas liquids. Water generated roughly 91% of segment EBITDA in the June 2026 quarter.

No distribution has been paid on the common units since the quarter ended December 31, 2020, when the quarterly payout was suspended. Class B, Class C and Class D preferred units rank ahead of the common, and no common distribution can be declared until preferred obligations are satisfied. Management has said it is keeping the option of reinstatement open for 2027, without committing to a date or an amount.

Yes. NGL is a master limited partnership, so unitholders receive a Schedule K-1 rather than a Form 1099, which typically arrives later in the filing season and can complicate a return. Income allocated to tax-exempt accounts such as IRAs is generally treated as unrelated business taxable income, and non-US holders face withholding and US filing requirements. Selling units can also trigger ordinary income from depreciation recapture.