Here is a recent update on Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP) from Investor's Business Daily by Paul Whitfield. Kinder 'Toll Road' Keeps Dividend On Upward Path

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP) is "essentially a huge toll road," as CEO Richard Kinder put it at the earnings call in October.

It operates about 25,000 miles of pipeline in North America and 170 storage terminals. The pipelines transport crude oil, natural gas, gasoline and carbon dioxide.

While the price of crude oil is down about 75% since July, the stock of Kinder Morgan Energy lost only 14% in the same period.

Changes in oil prices don't immediately affect Kinder because contracts are for longer terms.

Even changes in actual quantities transported can be initially irrelevant. Many contracts are on a take-or-pay basis — meaning Kinder receives most of its fee whether the customer uses capacity or not.

Earnings increased 94%, 51% and 26% in recent quarters, according to Thomson Reuters. Sales jumped 25%, 48% and 45%.

Those returns mark a departure from 2005-07, when earnings were patchy.

The dividend, however, has been increased for 12 consecutive years. The current yield is 8.3%.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners is a master limited partnership. Like real estate investment trusts, MLPs pay out most of their cash flow to shareholders.

For energy MLPs, the current challenge is access to capital.

While Kinder hasn't had problems raising capital, some companies in this group are pulling back from commitments because of the credit squeeze.

In December, for example, Quicksilver Gas Services (KGS) and Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) killed plans for a stake in a TransCanada (TRP) project to build a natural gas pipeline in Colorado.

TransCanada, however, hasn't given up on the project.

Disclosure: The Div Guy owns shares of KMP at the time of this post.