HOUSTON, TEXAS, December 17, 2004—El Paso Corporation (NYSE:EP) announced today that it plans to file its third quarter 2004 Form 10-Q shortly. In light of holiday schedules and in order to accommodate the greatest number of participants, the company plans to host a webcast on January 6, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time to provide a financial and operational update. The webcast may be accessed online through El Paso's Web site at www.elpaso.com in the Investors section. The charts that will be discussed during the webcast will be available in the same section of the Web site approximately one hour before the webcast. A limited number of telephone lines will also be available to participants by dialing (973) 582-2734 ten minutes prior to the start of the webcast.

A replay of the webcast will be available online through the El Paso Web site in the Investors section. A telephone audio replay will be also available through January 13, 2005, by dialing (973) 341-3080 (access code 5490230). If you have any questions regarding this procedure, please contact Margie Fox at (713) 420-2903.

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.