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                                                                       EXHIBIT 8


                                 April 4, 2001



Kinder Morgan Management, LLC
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P.
Kinder Morgan, Inc.
One Allen Center, Suite 1000
500 Dallas Street
Houston, Texas 77002

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as counsel to (i) Kinder Morgan Management, LLC, a Delaware
limited liability company (the "Company"), in connection with the proposed
offering by the Company of 8,500,000 shares (9,750,000 shares if the
over-allotment option granted to the underwriters is exercised in full) of the
Company representing limited liability company interests with limited voting
rights (the "Shares"), (ii) Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., a Delaware
limited partnership (the "Partnership"), in connection with the proposed sale by
the Partnership of limited partnership interests denominated as i-units (the
"i-units") to the Company with a portion of the net proceeds of the offering of
the Shares, and (iii) Kinder Morgan, Inc., a Kansas corporation ("KMI"), in
connection with the proposed offering by KMI of (a) the obligation of KMI (the
"Exchange Feature") to deliver common units of the Partnership (the "Common
Units") in exchange for Shares as specified in the Exchange Provisions to be
attached as Annex A to the Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company
Agreement of the Company (the "Amended LLC Agreement") to be dated as of the
date of the closing of the offering of the Shares (the "Closing"), and (b) the
obligation of KMI to purchase Shares (the "Purchase Obligation") in certain
circumstances as specified in the Purchase Provisions to be attached as Annex B
to the Amended LLC Agreement to be dated as of the Closing. A Registration
Statement (the "Registration Statement") has been filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "Commission") under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended (the "Securities Act"), (i) by the Company on Form S-1 (Registration No.
333-55868) relating to the Shares, (ii) by the Partnership on Form S-3
(Registration No. 333-55866) with respect to the i-units to be sold by the
Partnership to the Company and the Common Units deliverable by KMI in exchange
for the Shares pursuant to the Exchange Feature, and (iii) by KMI on Form S-3
(Registration No. 333-55866) with respect to the Exchange Feature and the
Purchase Obligation.

We have examined originals or copies of the Registration Statement and such
other documents and


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Kinder Morgan Management, LLC
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P.
Kinder Morgan, Inc.
April 4, 2001
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records as we have deemed necessary and relevant for the purposes hereof. In
addition, we have relied on certificates of officers of Kinder Morgan G.P.,
Inc., the general partner of the Partnership, and of public officials and others
as to certain matters of fact relating to this opinion and have made such
investigations of law as we have deemed necessary and relevant as a basis
hereof. In such examination, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures,
the authenticity of all documents and records submitted to us as copies, the
conformity to authentic original documents and records of all documents and
records submitted to us as copies, and the truthfulness of all statements of
fact contained therein.

The statements in the Registration Statement as to matters of law and legal
conclusions under the caption "Income Tax Considerations Relating to the Shares
and the Common Units" have been prepared by us and, in our opinion, subject to
the assumptions and qualifications stated therein, are accurate in all material
respects.

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion with the Commission as Exhibit 8
to the Registration Statement and to the references to our firm under the
heading "Income Tax Considerations Relating to the Shares and the Common Units"
in the Prospectus included in the Registration Statement. By giving such
consent, we do not admit that we are experts with respect to any part of the
Registration Statement, including this Exhibit, within the meaning of the term
"expert" as used in the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.


                                     Very truly yours,



                                     Bracewell & Patterson, L.L.P.