Supportive regulation, Stable revenue stream, and Ample storage capacity that provides flexibility and competitive advantage. Recontracting risk due to lower basis differentials, Intense competition, and Customer concentration risk Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' corporate credit rating on Birmingham, Ala.-based Southern Natural Gas Co. (SNG) is currently linked to our rating on its parent, El Paso Pipeline Partners L.P. (EPB), which in turn is a subsidiary of El Paso Corp. Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI; BB/Stable/--) is purchasing El Paso for $38 billion. When the transaction closes, El Paso will be a wholly owned subsidiary of KMI, and KMI's management will have considerable influence over the company's financial and governance policies. Therefore, we will align El Paso's ratings with KMI's ratings. However,
