Kinder Morgan to Acquire Premier Midstream Position in Bakken
Agrees to Purchase Hiland Partners for Approximately $3 Billion in Accretive Transaction
Wednesday, January 21, 2015 4:02 pm EST
"Hiland’s systems serve some of the Bakken’s largest and most successful producers, including Continental. We look forward to continuing to provide high quality midstream services to these producers and pursuing incremental growth opportunities in the basin."
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI) today announced 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.
Hiland’s crude oil gathering systems, located in North Dakota and Montana, consist of approximately 1,225 miles of gathering pipelines that deliver crude oil to the basin’s major takeaway pipelines and rail terminals. At closing, the crude oil gathering systems will have more than 1.8 million acres dedicated under long-term, fee-based agreements with major Bakken oil producers. At closing, Hiland’s largest oil gathering dedication will be with Continental, which has dedicated the majority of its Bakken acreage to Hiland’s gathering systems under a long-term agreement, including substantial acreage in McKenzie, Mountrail and Williams counties in North Dakota.
Hiland’s crude oil transportation pipeline, the Double H Pipeline, is a 485-mile pipeline that will transport crude oil from Hiland’s Dore Terminal in North Dakota to Guernsey, Wyoming, where Double H interconnects with Pony Express Pipeline for further transportation to Cushing, Oklahoma. Double H Pipeline is in the final stages of construction and is expected to begin service by the end of the month. Double H Pipeline will have an initial capacity of approximately 84,000 barrels per day, with an expansion to approximately 108,000 barrels per day in 2016. The pipeline has firm take-or-pay contracts for approximately 60,000 barrels per day and is currently conducting an open season for additional commitments.
Hiland’s gas gathering and processing systems in North Dakota and Montana consist of approximately 1,800 miles of gathering pipelines and, upon completion of a plant expansion in 2015, 240 million cubic feet per day of gas processing capacity and 30,000 barrels per day of fractionation capacity. These systems process associated gas from oil production and have approximately 3.7 million acres dedicated under long-term agreements with major Bakken oil producers. Additionally, Hiland’s Midcontinent systems gather and process gas in the Woodford shale and other areas of Oklahoma.
“We are delighted to establish a substantial midstream footprint in one of the most prolific oil producing basins in the United States,” said KMI Chairman and CEO Richard D. Kinder. “Hiland’s systems serve some of the Bakken’s largest and most successful producers, including Continental. We look forward to continuing to provide high quality midstream services to these producers and pursuing incremental growth opportunities in the basin.”
Based on its long-term forecast for Hiland, KMI expects that the multiple of EBITDA paid for Hiland, including future growth capital investments, will decline to approximately 10 times by 2018. The acquisition is expected to be modestly accretive to KMI’s cash available to pay dividends in 2015 and 2016 and approximately six to seven cents accretive beginning in 2017.
“Kinder Morgan’s projections for Hiland are reflective of the current commodity price environment. While Hiland’s gathering systems serve some of the Bakken’s and North America’s most economic acreage, the projections incorporate announced reductions in drilling activity by Hiland’s customers,” explained Kinder. “Although Hiland’s cash flow is largely fee-based, our projections are based on commodity prices consistent with the current forward curve for the portion that is sensitive to commodity prices.”
Kinder Morgan anticipates retaining nearly all of Hiland’s approximately 430 employees and maintaining KMI’s already significant presence in Oklahoma.
“Through the hard work of its employees, Hiland has become a premier midstream company. This transaction is about expanding our midstream footprint and Hiland’s employees will be a critical part of that growth,” said Kinder. “We expect this transaction will provide opportunities for Hiland’s many talented employees.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. Kinder Morgan expects to close the transaction in the first quarter of 2015.
Bracewell & Guiliani acted as legal counsel to KMI. UBS Securities LLC has provided a $2.025 billion bridge financing facility to KMI.
Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI) is the largest energy infrastructure company in North America. It owns an interest in or operates approximately 80,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals. The company’s 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. Kinder Morgan is the largest midstream and third largest energy company in North America with an enterprise value of more than $125 billion. For more information please visit www.kindermorgan.com.
This news release includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and are based on the beliefs and assumptions of management, based on information currently available to them. Although Kinder Morgan believes that these forward-looking statements 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 include those enumerated in Kinder Morgan’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and except to the extent required by law, Kinder Morgan undertakes no obligation to update or review any forward-looking statement because of new information, future events or other factors. Because of these uncertainties, readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
