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USA Compression Partners
USA Compression Partners was founded in 1998 by Eric D. Long, who has served as President and CEO since inception.
USA Compression Partners
USA Compression Partners was founded in 1998 by Eric D. Long, who has served as President and CEO since inception. The firm went public in 2013 and is structured as a master limited partnership (NYSE: USAC), with Energy Transfer as its general partner sponsor. The company does not operate a traditional family office or private fund — it owns and operates a large-scale fleet of natural gas compression units that it leases to exploration and production companies and midstream operators under multi-year contracts. The firm deploys capital into compression infrastructure — primarily large-horsepower units rated at 1,000 horsepower and above — serving major shale basins including the Permian, Eagle Ford, Marcellus, and Haynesville. Its revenue model relies on fixed-fee, take-or-pay contracts, insulating cash flows from direct commodity-price volatility. The fleet supports natural gas gathering, processing, and transportation, with utilization rates historically running above 85%. As of its most recent filings, the partnership reported roughly 3.8 million horsepower across its owned fleet. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, USA Compression operates service and maintenance locations across the major producing basins. In late 2023, the firm reported record revenues of approximately $340 million for the third quarter, reflecting sustained demand for compression services tied to associated gas from oil-directed drilling. The partnership distributes a significant portion of available cash to unitholders, with annual distributions exceeding $500 million in recent years. The firm's structural differentiator lies in its position as a pure-play compression service provider within a sponsor-backed MLP architecture. Unlike integrated midstream companies, USA Compression does not own pipelines or processing plants — it focuses solely on compression as a service, giving it a depth of fleet specialization and customer concentration that vertically integrated peers cannot match. Energy Transfer's sponsorship provides capital-market access while leaving operational control to the Long-led management team.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
1998
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Austin
Corporate office
Austin, TX, United States
Principals
Eric D. Long
President and Chief Executive Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does USA Compression generate revenue and what protects it from commodity price swings?
Revenue comes primarily from long-term, fee-based compression service contracts with midstream operators and producers. These agreements typically run three to five years and include fixed monthly fees with utilization-based components. The take-or-pay structure in many contracts ensures a base level of revenue regardless of throughput, insulating the firm from short-term commodity price volatility.
What is USA Compression's relationship with Energy Transfer?
Energy Transfer serves as the general partner of USA Compression Partners LP. It owns the incentive distribution rights and a significant limited partner interest. This sponsorship structure provides USA Compression with strategic alignment and access to capital markets while the management team, led by founder Eric Long, retains operational control of the compression fleet and day-to-day business.
What kind of compression equipment does the firm operate and where?
The firm focuses on large-horsepower compression units, typically 1,000 horsepower and above, deployed across major U.S. shale basins. Key operating regions include the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico, the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, the Marcellus and Utica shales in the Appalachian Basin, and the Haynesville Shale in East Texas and Louisiana.
Who runs investment and operational decisions at USA Compression?
Eric D. Long is the founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer, leading strategic and operational decisions since the firm's 1998 founding. The management team includes a CFO and operations executives who oversee fleet deployment, maintenance, and customer relationships. All major capital allocation decisions — including fleet expansion, acquisitions, and distribution policy — run through this Austin-based leadership group.
Does USA Compression participate in fund structures or is it strictly an operating company?
USA Compression is an operating company structured as a publicly traded master limited partnership. It does not operate any private funds, venture arms, or pooled investment vehicles. All capital is deployed directly into the firm's compression fleet and supporting infrastructure, with investors gaining exposure through publicly traded LP units rather than fund commitments.
How old is the firm's compression fleet and what is the typical unit economic?
The fleet includes both newly manufactured and acquired legacy units, with the firm actively refreshing older horsepower through its capital expenditure program. A new large-horsepower compression unit can cost $2 million to $5 million to deploy. Once placed under a long-term service contract, the unit generates predictable monthly cash flows over a multi-year period, with maintenance and operating costs representing the primary ongoing expense.
What distinguishes USA Compression from integrated midstream companies that also offer compression?
USA Compression is the largest pure-play independent compression service provider in the U.S. Unlike integrated midstream companies that bundle compression with gathering, processing, and transportation, USA Compression focuses exclusively on compression-as-a-service. This narrow focus creates deep fleet specialization, flexible deployment across basins, and customer relationships that do not compete with other midstream services the customer may internalize.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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