HOUSTON, Dec. 12, 2007 – Rockies Express Pipeline LLC (REX) today announced it has completed a successful non-binding open season for the Northeast Express project, a 375-mile extension of REX that would extend the pipeline’s route from Clarington, Ohio, and add capacity to receive volumes from Lebanon, Ohio, to the endpoint in Princeton, N.J.  REX officials reported that market interest during the open season exceeded the pipeline’s initial design estimate of 1.5 million dekatherms per day.  Interested parties included natural gas producers, natural gas marketers, local distribution companies and power generators. 

        REX plans to begin negotiating binding agreements with these potential customers.  Subject to receipt of sufficient binding commitments and regulatory approvals, the pipeline extension could go into service in late 2010.  The proposed expansion capitalizes on the efficient design of the REX pipeline and will have a low-cost fuel rate delivering gas to the Northeast. 

        REX is a $4.4 billion joint venture of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP), Sempra Pipelines and Storage, a unit of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), and is one of the largest natural gas pipelines to be constructed in North America.  When completed, the 1,678-mile pipeline will have a capacity of approximately 1.8 billion cubic feet per day.  Binding firm commitments from creditworthy shippers have been secured for virtually all of the capacity on the pipeline.  KMP is overseeing construction of the project and will operate the pipeline. 

        The first 328-mile segment of REX, which runs from the Meeker Hub in Rio Blanco County, Colo., to the Wamsutter Hub in Sweetwater County, Wyo., to the Cheyenne Hub in Weld County, Colo., is in service and has a current capacity of 500,000 dekatherms per day.  The next segment, REX-West, is a 713 mile, 42-inch diameter pipeline that will extend from the Cheyenne Hub to an interconnection with Panhandle Eastern Pipeline located in Audrain County, Mo.  It is anticipated that interim service on REX-West will be available in late December, with full service by February 2008.  Subject to receipt of regulatory approvals, it is anticipated that interim service on REX-East will begin as early as Dec. 30, 2008, and the pipeline will be fully operational by June 2009.

        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 24,000 miles of pipelines and 150 terminals.  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 $20 billion.  The general partner of KMP is owned by Knight Inc. (formerly Kinder Morgan, Inc.), a private company.

        Sempra Pipelines & Storage acquires, builds and operates natural gas pipelines and storage facilities in Mexico and the United States.  Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy-services holding company with 2006 revenues of nearly $12 billion.  The Sempra Energy companies’ 14,000 employees serve more than 29 million consumers in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, South America and Asia.

        ConocoPhillips is an integrated petroleum company with interests around the world.  Headquartered in Houston, the company had approximately 32,500 employees, $173 billion of assets, and $180 billion of revenues as of September 30, 2007.  For more information, go to www.conocophillips.com. 

        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.