Kinder Morgan Acquires Hiland

Hamm sells Hiland
Hamm sells Hiland

Kinder Morgan announced last week that it finalized the acquisition of Hiland Partners, a midstream firm founded by Harold Hamm, CEO of Continental Resources. The deal, reported at $3 billion, includes assuming almost $1 billion in debt.

Hiland primarily serves production from the Bakken Formation in North Dakota and Montana and by operating crude oil gathering/transportation pipelines and gas gathering/processing systems including roughly 1,225 miles of pipeline. Company officials anticipate retaining nearly all of Hiland’s approximately 430 employees.

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.

Harold Hamm began contemplating the sale due to financial worries stemming from plummeting oil prices and a very public, and expensive divorce. Hamm reportedly sold the interest in order to gain the necessary cash for a $1 billion divorce settlement, one of the largest divorce tabs ever recorded. This acquisition is on the heels of a personal loan in December at the same time the company slashed its 2015 capex for the second time.

Related: More Budget Cuts for Continental Resources