Q4 earnings reporting season has only just begun. But there’s plenty to glean from what companies have said so far, on their own prospects as well as what lies ahead for the energy industry. Here’s what’s important from what we’ve learned so far. —EG, RC

 • Q: What’s your number one takeaway from the results and guidance of the early Q4 reporters?

• Roger Conrad (RC): As long-time readers might expect, I’m going to focus my comments here on the midstream side. Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE: KMI) is not only the first sector company to report. It also has operations up and down the value chain, from natural gas gathering at the wellhead to long haul pipelines and storage.

The company transported 55 percent of US gas headed for LNG export facilities last year. And it has a presence in crude oil as well, including production at the downsized but still important CO2 unit. Add in the fact that Kinder operates in multiple reserve basins and it makes a pretty good bellwether for what we’re likely to see from the rest of the oil and gas midstream sector.