Houston-based Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (NYSE: KMP) said March 14 that it has closed its previously announced sale of its one-third interest in the Express-Platte Pipeline System to Spectra Energy Corp for approximately $380 million, pre-tax.
KMP’s joint venture partners in Canada (Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and Borealis Infrastructure, the infrastructure investment arm of the OMERS pension plan) also sold their interests in the pipeline system, as Spectra Energy Corp purchased 100% of Express-Platte—a 1,700-mile oil pipeline system connecting Canadian and US producers to refineries in the Rocky Mountain and Midwest regions of the United States.
Based on the structure of KMP’s investment with the Express-Platte Pipeline partners, KMP received approximately $15 million of cash flow on an annual basis from its investment, consisting primarily of debenture interest. KMP plans to redeploy the proceeds from the sale into various growth projects to further benefit its unit-holders.
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP is one of the largest publicly-traded pipeline limited partnerships in America. It owns an interest in or operates more than 44,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals. The general partner of KMP is owned by Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI).
Kinder Morgan is the largest midstream and the third-largest energy company in North America with a combined enterprise value of approximately $100 billion. It owns an interest in or operates more than 73,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals. Its pipelines transport natural gas, gasoline, crude oil, CO2 and other products, and its terminals store petroleum products and chemicals and handle such products as ethanol, coal, petroleum coke and steel. KMI owns the general partner interests of KMP and El Paso Pipeline Partners LP (NYSE: EPB), along with limited partner interests in KMP, Kinder Morgan Management, LLC (NYSE: KMR), and EPB.
