Kinder Morgan, Inc. has signed a definitive agreement whereby KMI will acquire Hiland Partners (Hiland) from its founder, Harold Hamm, and certain Hamm family trusts, for a total purchase price of approximately $3 billion, including the assumption of debt.

Hiland's assets, which are mostly fee based, consist of crude oil gathering and transportation pipelines and gas gathering and processing systems, primarily serving production from the Bakken Formation in North Dakota and Montana.

The transaction creates a premier midstream platform for KMI in the Bakken with a significant amount of acreage dedicated under long-term gathering agreements.

These acreage dedications are with some of the Bakken's largest and most successful producers, covering some of the most attractive and economically viable areas in the basin. Hiland's customers include Continental Resources, Inc. (Continental), Oasis Petroleum Inc., XTO Energy Inc., Whiting Petroleum Corporation and Hess Corporation, among others.

Tags: Kinder Morgan Energy Partners