Houston, Texas, February 11, 1998-El Paso Energy International Company, a business unit of El Paso Energy Corporation (NYSE:EPG), announced today the final agreements have been signed by the partners of an international consortium to build the 325-mile Gasoducto del Pacifico pipeline from Argentina across the Andes mountains into Chile, roughly 300 miles south of Santiago. Construction on the $380 million project has already begun and the pipeline is scheduled to be in service by late 1999.

The Gasoducto del Pacifico pipeline will transport natural gas from Argentina's Neuquén province to customers in central Chile, mainly around Concepción, a city of about one million people. The pipeline will include 325 miles of 20- and 24-inch mainline and 65 miles of 10- and 12-inch lateral lines. The initial delivery capacity of the system is estimated to be 140 million cubic feet of gas per day (MMcf/d).

El Paso Energy International, through its Triunion Energy joint venture, owns 21.8 percent of Gasoducto del Pacifico, second only to NOVA's 30 percent stake. The other partners include Chile's Empresa Nacional del Petróleo (ENAP), Compañia de Consumidores de Gas S.A. (GASCO), and YPF S.A. of Argentina.

"This pipeline project is the result of a strong consortium of partners all with the common goal of linking Argentine gas supplies to millions of Chilean customers," said John Hushon, president of El Paso Energy International Company. "The project not only involves a consortium of producers selling gas from Argentina into Chile, it also includes plans to transport and market gas to large industrial customers and eventually provide power generation capabilities to the region as well.

The Gasoducto del Pacifico project includes a $44 million natural gas transportation and marketing company, known as Servicios de Gas Natural (SGN), which will serve industrial customers in the region. Gas Natural del Sur, a $14 million initial investment in a commercial and residential natural gas distribution system, will serve customers in and around Concepción.

With over $9 billion in assets, El Paso Energy Corporation provides energy solutions through five business units: Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, El Paso Natural Gas Company, El Paso Energy International Company, El Paso Field Services Company and El Paso Energy Marketing Company. The company owns the nation's only integrated coast-to-coast natural gas pipeline system and has operations in interstate natural gas transmission, international infrastructure development, gas gathering and processing, and energy marketing.

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 companies have 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. While the companies make these statements and projections in good faith, neither the companies nor their managements can guarantee that the anticipated future results will be achieved. Reference should be made to the companies' (and their affiliates') Securities and Exchange Commission filings for additional important factors that may affect actual results.