Kinder Morgan-Copano Increase Processing Capacity in Eagle Ford Shale

HOUSTON, June 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Eagle Ford Gathering LLC, a 50/50 joint venture between Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP) and Copano Energy, L.L.C. (NASDAQ: CPNO), today announced a long-term agreement with Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ) to process Eagle Ford Shale production at Williams Partners' Markham processing plant located in Matagorda County, Texas.  Eagle Ford Gathering will construct a 7-mile, 20-inch lateral to connect its previously announced crossover pipeline project to the Markham plant and install approximately 3,400 horsepower of compression at a cost of approximately $27 million.  The agreement will initially provide Eagle Ford Gathering with 100 million cubic feet per day of processing capacity at the Markham plant, with an option to increase its capacity to up to 200 million cubic feet per day.

Duane Kokinda, president of Kinder Morgan's Intrastate Pipeline Group, said, "We are pleased to enter into this significant new agreement with Williams Partners to increase the joint venture's gas processing capabilities.  The new agreement augments the previously announced agreement with Formosa Hydrocarbons Company, resulting in up to 375 million cubic feet per day of total processing capacity through the crossover project.  We expect to break ground on the crossover pipeline in July and to place it in service in the fourth quarter of 2011.  In addition, the joint venture has 375,000 MMbtu per day of processing capacity at Copano's Houston Central plant through Kinder Morgan's Laredo-to-Katy pipeline."

"The joint venture's 117-mile, 30- and 24-inch system through McMullen, La Salle, Dimmit and Webb Counties is nearing completion," said Jim Wade, President and Chief Operating Officer of Copano Energy's Texas segment. "We expect the system to be placed into service in September and begin processing joint venture gas at Copano's Houston Central complex.  We are pleased with the new, long-term relationship with Williams Partners, which represents continued progress in executing our overall Eagle Ford Shale strategy.  The joint venture's combined capacity commitments, along with Copano's recently announced expansion of the Houston Central complex, will provide South Texas producers access to processing and fractionation capacity of up to 1.4 billion cubic feet of gas per day and over 100,000 barrels per day of NGL fractionation and product market."

Through Eagle Ford Gathering, Kinder Morgan and Copano expect to invest approximately $300 million in midstream infrastructure to provide gathering, transportation, processing and fractionation services to Eagle Ford Shale producers.  

About Kinder Morgan Energy Partners

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP) is a leading pipeline transportation and energy storage company in North America.  KMP owns an interest in or operates more than 28,000 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.  KMP is also the leading provider of CO2 for enhanced oil recovery projects in North America.  One of the largest publicly traded pipeline limited partnerships in America, KMP has an enterprise value of over $33 billion.  The general partner of KMP is owned by Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI).  Combined, KMI and KMP have an enterprise value of approximately $55 billion.  For more information please visit www.kindermorgan.com.

About Copano Energy, L.L.C.

Houston-based Copano Energy, L.L.C. (NASDAQ: CPNO) is a midstream natural gas company with operations in Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming and Louisiana.  Its assets include approximately 6,400 miles of active natural gas gathering and transmission pipelines, 250 miles of NGL pipelines and ten natural gas processing plants, with over one Bcf per day of combined processing capacity and 22,000 barrels per day of fractionation capacity. For more information please visit www.copanoenergy.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes forward-looking statements.  Although Kinder Morgan and Copano Energy believe that their expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, they can give no assurance that such assumptions will materialize or that the proposed transactions will be consummated.  Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements in this release include: the impact of inflation on project costs and the availability of required resources; the effects on the project schedule, project costs, or both, of numerous regulatory, environmental, political, legal and operational uncertainties; the impact on volumes and resulting cash flow of technological, economic and other uncertainties inherent in estimating future production and producers' ability to drill and successfully complete and attach new natural gas supplies, and the availability of downstream transportation systems and other facilities for natural gas and NGLs. These and other risks and uncertainties are described in the risk factors sections of Kinder Morgan's and Copano Energy's Forms 10-K and 10-Q as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P.; Copano Energy, L.L.C.