Kinder, Chevron Shares Off, But A Flat Day For Oil

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, an energy master limited partnership, was among the losers in the oil patch after parent Kinder Morgan said it would sell MLP assets to gain regulatory approval of its El Paso acquisition.

Shares of Kinder Morgan (KMI), the parent� pipeline operator based in Houston, rose 9 cents, or 0.26%, to $36.09. Units of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP), the MLP, fell $1.48, or 1.78%, to $82.394. Shares of a third, related Kinder entity, Kinder Morgan Management (KMR) fell 82 cents, or 1.06%, to $76.36. The parent pays a yield of 3.4%, while the MLP pays a largely tax-deferred yield of 5.4%. The third enterprise doesn’t pay a cash dividend, but it does pay a distribution in the form of shares.*

Shares of El Paso (EP), which also operates a pipeline limited partnership, rose 29 cents, or 1%, to $22.80.

In a prepared release, Kinder Morgan said it reached a “verbal tentative agreement with the Federal Trade Commission” to divest gas pipeline, natural gas processing and treatment facilities including a 50% interest in the Rockies Express Pipeline.

Kinder CEO Richard D. Kinder said,

�The amount of divestitures is reasonably consistent with our original financial model. We are very excited about the 43,000 miles of El Paso natural gas pipelines that we will be adding.”

U.S. oil prices were little changed on the day, at $105.36, down 7 cents, or 0.07%, after recovering from the midday dip on rumors about a UK-U.S. deal on strategic oil reserves. The Obama administration denied any agreement, we noted on the Focus on Funds blog earlier today.

Among the big oil names, ConocoPhillips (COP), was off 89 cents, or 1.15%, to $76.73.� Chevron (CVX) shares declined $1.15, or 1.03%, to $109.54; regulators in Brazil indicated a leak appears to be from the ocean floor, not a sealed Chevron well. Shares of ExxonMobil (XOM) stock was down slightly.

* Clarification: In a previous version of this post, I said Kinder Morgan Management doesn’t pay a dividend. It does not pay a cash dividend, but does pay a distribution in shares, as clarified in text above. See company fact sheet.