(Source: Business Wire)Midcontinent Express Pipeline (MEP) has received authorization from the Pipelines Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to increase the maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) on a substantial portion of Zone 1 from .72 to .8 design. This authorization enables MEP to serve its full current contracted capacity level. MEP is jointly owned by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP) and Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (ETP). KMP operates the pipeline.

The 500-mile Midcontinent Express Pipeline (MEP) originates in southeast Oklahoma, crosses northeast Texas, northern Louisiana, central Mississippi and ends in Alabama. MEP will increase to the .8 design MAOP on approximately 267 miles of Zone 1 from Paris, Texas, to Delhi, La. This will boost firm deliverable capacity to 1.4 billion cubic feet per day on that portion of the pipeline. MEP's Zone 2 extends from Delhi to Transcontinental Pipe Line's Station 85 in Butler, Ala., and has a current capacity of nearly 1.0 billion cubic feet per day. The pipeline's capacity, including expansions (June 2010 and December 2010) that have been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, is fully subscribed with long-term binding commitments from creditworthy shippers.

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 28,000miles of pipelines and 170terminals. Its pipelines transport natural gas, gasoline, crude oil, CO2 and other products, and its terminals store petroleum products and chemicals and handle bulk materials like coal and petroleum coke. 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 approximately $25 billion. The general partner of KMP is owned by Kinder Morgan, Inc., a private company, www.kindermorgan.com.

Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (NYSE:ETP) is a publicly traded partnership owning and operating a diversified portfolio of energy assets. ETP has pipeline operations in Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Utah, and owns the largest intrastate pipeline system in Texas. ETP's natural gas operations include gathering and transportation pipelines, treating and processing assets, and three storage facilities located in Texas. ETP currently has more than 17,500 miles of pipeline in service and has a 50% interest in joint ventures that have approximately 500 miles of interstate pipeline in service. ETP is also one of the three largest retail marketers of propane in the United States, serving more than one million customers across the country. For more information visit www.energytransfer.com.

Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (NYSE:ETE) is a publicly traded partnership, which owns the general partner of Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. and approximately 62.5 million ETP limited partner units.

This news release includes forward-looking statements. 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 Forms 10-K and 10-Q as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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