Kinder Morgan Energy Partners to Own 100% of Cochin Pipeline


HOUSTON, Jan. 15 -- Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE:KMP) today announced it has entered into an agreement with affiliates of BP to increase KMP's ownership stake in the Cochin Pipeline System to 100 percent. BP Canada Energy Company currently operates Cochin and owns just over 50 percent of the system. KMP, which presently has an almost 50 percent stake in Cochin, will assume operations of the pipeline from BP when the transaction closes. The agreement is subject to due diligence, regulatory clearance and other standard closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2007.

"We are pleased to increase our ownership stake in the Cochin Pipeline System, and we are delighted that BP will continue to be a shipper on the pipeline," said Tom Bannigan, president of KMP's Products Pipelines. "We look forward to bringing our pipeline expertise to bear when we begin operating Cochin, a large, strategically located pipeline system that will play an integral role relative to the future supply of propane in North America. The pipeline generates stable cash flow and the acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to cash available for distribution to KMP unitholders upon closing."

KMP first gained entry into the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in October of 2000 when it purchased a 32.5 percent interest in Cochin. The multi-product pipeline consists of approximately 1,900 miles of 12-inch pipeline operating between Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Windsor, Ontario. Cochin traverses three provinces in Canada and seven states in the United States, transporting propane, butane and natural gas liquids to the midwestern United States and eastern Canadian petrochemical and fuel markets. The pipeline includes 31 pump stations spaced at 60-mile intervals and five U.S. propane terminals. Underground storage, owned by third parties and KMP, is available at Fort Saskatchewan and Windsor.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. is one of the largest publicly traded pipeline limited partnerships in America and owns or operates more than 27,000 miles of pipelines and approximately 145 terminals. Its pipelines transport more than 2 million barrels/day of gasoline and other petroleum products and up to 9 billion cubic feet/day of natural gas; and, its terminals handle over 80 million tons of coal and other bulk materials annually and have a liquids storage capacity of about 70 million barrels for petroleum products and chemicals. KMP is also the leading provider of CO2 for enhanced oil recovery projects in the United States.

The general partner of KMP is owned by Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI), one of the largest energy transportation, storage and distribution companies in North America. Combined, the two companies have an enterprise value of more than $35 billion.

This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Although Kinder Morgan believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that such assumptions will materialize. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements herein are enumerated in Kinder Morgan's Form 10-K and 10-Q as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: maureen_bulkley@kindermorgan.com

Source: Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P.

CONTACT: Emily Mir Thompson, Media Relations, +1-713-369-8060, or Mindy Mills, Investor Relations, +1-713-369-9449, both of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P.

Web site: http://www.kindermorgan.com/

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