By AMY OR

NEW YORK -- Natural gas pipeline operator Kinder Morgan Energy Partners said it is taking full ownership of a natural gas joint venture by buying the 50% interest it doesn't already own from KKR & Co. for $300 million in KMP shares.

The joint venture was set up by KKR and El Paso Corp. at the end of 2010, with KKR paying $125 million for half of El Paso's Altamont gathering-and-processing assets.

The deal is expected to close by the end of May, subsequent to the completion of Kinder Morgan’s planned purchase of El Paso.

El Paso shareholders approved the $21.1 billion acquisition in March. Kinder Morgan owns the general partner of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners.

The joint venture pursues midstream developments in the Altamont gathering in Utah and the Camino Real Gathering System in Texas.

The Altamont assets include more than 1,100 miles of pipelines, 60 million cubic feet/day of natural-gas processing capacity and 5,600 bpd of natural-gas liquids-fractionation capacity, while the Camino Real system has 150 cubic feet/day of gas-gathering capacity and 110,000 bpd of oil-gathering capacity.

Midstream activities include processing, storing and transporting of commodities.


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