Midstream natural gas MLP ONEOK Partners (OKS) announced yesterday its second-quarter distribution of $0.72 per unit, an increase of $0.005 from the $0.715 per unit it paid investors last quarter.

The board of directors said the quarterly dividend is payable on Aug. 15 to the holders of record at the close of business on Aug. 5. The master limited partnership has made quarterly payouts to investors since 1972.

Stating that the distribution increase represents ONEOK Partners' commitment to increasing unitholder value, Chairman and CEO John W. Gibson said, "We expect our previously announced investments of approximately $4.7 billion to $5.2 billion for natural gas and natural gas liquids growth projects through 2015 to allow us to continue increasing unitholder distributions."

ONEOK Partners has increased its distribution by approximately 80% since April 2006, when a wholly owned subsidiary of ONEOK became the sole general partner.

The regular dividend payment equates to a $2.88-per-share annual dividend, yielding 5.7% based on the closing price today of ONEOK Partners' stock.

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