February 13, 2009 (FinancialWire) -- OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE) (Current Market Cap: US$2.28 Bil.) and Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (NYSE: ETP) (Current Market Cap: US$5.35 Bil.) said that they have terminated their agreement to form a joint venture that would have combined OGE's Enogex midstream business with ETP's Transwestern, and Mid-Continent Express interstate assets and Canyon Resources gathering operations.

The deal, which was first acknowledged officially last September, would have created a joint venture with diverse business lines and an expansive geographic platform to pursue growth opportunities in midstream and interstate natural gas pipeline operations.

However, OGE and ETP said they agree that the significant downturn in the national economy and resulting uncertainty in the capital markets have made it unfeasible to complete the formation of the joint venture at this time.

OGE and ETP originally expected to complete the formation of the joint venture after obtaining satisfactory financing, customary regulatory approvals and various third-party consents, having agreed to a March 31 deadline to complete the transaction. The parties determined that given current conditions and projections for the near term, it is in their mutual interest to terminate the joint venture agreement.

Oklahoma City-based OGE Energy is the parent company of Enogex LLC, a midstream natural gas pipeline business with principal operations in Oklahoma, and of OG&E, a regulated electric utility serving 770,000 customers in an area spanning 30,000 square miles in Oklahoma and western Arkansas.

Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners owns and operates a portfolio of energy assets. ETP has pipeline operations in Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Utah, and owns an intrastate pipeline system in Texas. ETP's natural gas operations include intrastate natural gas gathering and transportation pipelines, natural gas treating and processing assets and three natural gas storage facilities located in Texas.

ETP is also a retail marketer of propane in the United States, serving more than one million customers across the country.

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