Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) is weighing acquisitions in the booming chemicals business, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Kelcy Warren said on May 12, 2021 at a conference in North Dakota. The company, which got a $2.4 billion windfall from a February storm-related surge in natural gas prices, could enter the chemicals and plastics market, preferably through an acquisition, he said. “I want to buy someone,” said Warren, who recently stepped into the role of executive chairman. Warren said consolidation in the oil industry will also accelerate, noting that companies “must consolidate if you’re going to make it.” Warren expressed confidence that Energy Transfer’s controversial Dakota Access Pipeline would continue to run, despite being embroiled in a legal battle over a key permit. “We’re not shutting down the Dakota Access Pipeline. It’s not going to happen,” Warren said at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference. He said it’s “business as usual” for the pipeline system while the Army Corps of Engineers completes a required Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Lawsuits against long-haul pipelines would likely stymie new transport projects, he said.