Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) pays its investors well. The pipeline company should have plenty of fuel to keep growing its dividends in the coming years. One factor powering that view is its ability to secure needle-moving expansion projects.

Kinder Morgan said on Thursday its unit Tennessee Gas Pipeline will proceed with the nearly $1.4 billion Mississippi Crossing Project (MSX Project), strengthening the pipeline operator's position in the Southeast U.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, said December 19 it had sanctioned the $1.4bn Mississippi Crossing (MSX) Project, a 1.5bn ft 3 /day interstate pipeline extending 206 miles from Greenville, Mississippi to Butler, Alabama, after securing binding transportation agreements for all of its capacity.

Kinder Morgan's growing earnings will enable it to continue increasing its dividend. The company plans to declare $1.17 per share in dividends next year ($0.2925 per quarter). That's up from $1.15 per share in dividends ($0.2875 per quarter) in 2024 (a 1.7% increase). That would mark its eighth straight year of increasing its dividend.