FERC's approval and issuance of FEP's certificate authorizes the construction of the approximately 185-mile natural gas pipeline serving the Fayetteville Shale producing region in Arkansas. Construction is expected to begin in early 2010, pending FERC's approval of FEP's implementation plan.

The 42-inch FEP will originate in Conway County, Ark., continue eastward through White County, Ark., and terminate at an interconnection with Trunkline Gas Company in Panola County, Miss. The pipeline will have an initial capacity to transport up to 2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas. Pending necessary regulatory approvals, the approximately $1.25 billion pipeline project is expected to be in service by late 2010 or early 2011.

"We are excited to continue the forward momentum of this project with FERC's approval of our certificate application," said Lee Hanse, Senior Vice President of Energy Transfer Partners, the operating partner of FEP. "We look forward to staying on track with the timely completion of FEP in order to provide our customers in the Fayetteville Shale area the flexibility and unprecedented market access they have come to expect from us."

"We are delighted to take another significant step on the FEP project and look forward to starting construction in 2010," said Tom Martin, president of Kinder Morgan's Natural Gas Pipelines business. "This project will bring significant jobs to the local economy and provide an outlet for new gas supplies to reach consumers."

Energy Transfer Partners is managing the construction of the FEP project and will operate the pipeline. More information on the project is available at www.fepipeline.com.

Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (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.

Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (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.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (KMP) is a leading pipeline transportation and energy storage company in North America. KMP owns an interest in or operates more than 28,000 miles of pipelines and 170 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 over $25 billion. The general partner of KMP is owned by Kinder Morgan, Inc.