Leading U.S. pipeline Kinder Morgan Inc said on Wednesday it will enter North Dakota's Bakken shale with a $3 billion acquisition of Hiland Partners, a pipeline and logistics company founded by Continental Resources Chief Executive Officer Harold Hamm.The deal includes acreage in the Bakken's top producing counties from which Kinder expects substantial oil output despite crude prices that have fallen by more than half since June."The Bakken is the one producing basin in which Kinder Morgan doesn't have a large presence," Chief Executive Rich Kinder told analysts on Wednesday. "We are in the Tier 1 sweet spot of the Bakken. Otherwise we wouldn't have done the deal."The company also announced that Kinder, co-founder of the company, will step down as chief executive in June in a long-expected move. Both announcements came with the company's release of quarterly results that included net income of $566 million, down from $704 in the same period of 2013.
Continental Resources, Inc. (Continental Resources) is an independent crude oil and natural gas exploration and production company with operations in the North, South and East regions of the United States. Shares of CLR traded higher by 8.36% or $3.22/share to $41.74. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $30.06 and as high as $80.91. On average, 4602530 shares of CLR exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 6537373.
Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI) owns and manages a diversified portfolio of energy transportation and storage assets. Shares of KMI traded higher by 0.43% or $0.18/share to $42.00. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $30.81 and as high as $43.18. On average, 24877600 shares of KMI exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 10655577.
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