HOUSTON, TEXAS, March 23, 2005—El Paso Corporation (NYSE:EP) announced today that an indirect subsidiary has sold its 51-percent interest in Coastal Petrochemical L.P. and associated working capital to Petro-Canada for approximately $74 million, subject to post-closing adjustments.

El Paso obtained its interest in the plant as part of its 2001 merger with The Coastal Corporation. The plant, located in Montreal, Canada, is a joint venture between El Paso's indirect subsidiaries and subsidiaries of Société générale de financement du Québec. The major product produced at the plant is paraxylene, used to manufacture polyester and plastic bottles.

This sale is a part of El Paso's plan to reduce the company's debt, net of cash, to approximately $15 billion by year-end 2005. To date, the company has announced or closed approximately $4.2 billion of asset sales. In addition, these announced or closed asset sales have eliminate approximately $1.6 billion of associated non-recourse debt from El Paso's balance sheet.

El Paso Corporation provides natural gas and related energy products in a safe, efficient, dependable manner. The company owns North America's largest natural gas pipeline system and one of North America's largest independent natural gas producers. For more information, visit www.elpaso.com.

This release includes forward-looking statements and projections, made in reliance on the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company has made every reasonable effort to ensure that the information and assumptions on which these statements and projections are based are current, reasonable, and complete. However, a variety of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the projections, anticipated results or other expectations expressed in this release, including, without limitation, the ability to implement and achieve our objectives in the long-range plan, including achieving our debt-reduction targets; our ability to close our announced asset sales on a timely basis; the uncertainties associated with governmental regulation; and other factors described in the company's (and its affiliates') Securities and Exchange Commission filings. While the company makes these statements and projections in good faith, neither the company nor its management can guarantee that anticipated future results will be achieved. Reference must be made to those filings for additional important factors that may affect actual results. The company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any other forward-looking statements made by the company, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.