Houston, Texas, October 25, 1999-El Paso Energy Corporation announced today the addition of five new members to its Board of Directors. The new members will join the board immediately following the close of the company's merger with Sonat Inc. and will enlarge the board from seven members to twelve.

Ronald L. Kuehn, Jr. joins El Paso Energy as non-executive chairman of the Board of Directors. Since 1981, Mr. Kuehn, 64, has been president, chief executive officer, and a director of Sonat Inc. He is a director of AmSouth Bancorporation; Praxair, Inc.; Protective Life Corporation; The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation; Transocean Offshore Inc.; and Union Carbide Corporation. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Tuskegee University and Southern Research Institute.

Max L. Lukens, 51, is chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Baker Hughes Incorporated. He has served as a director of Sonat since 1995 and is also a director of Baker Hughes and Transocean Offshore Inc.

Adrian M. Tocklin, 48, is president and chief executive officer of Tocklin & Associates, Inc. She has served as a director of Sonat since 1994 and is also a director of CNA Surety Corp. and First Insurance Company of Hawaii. During the five years prior to her retirement in 1998, Ms. Tocklin served as an executive officer of CNA Insurance Companies and The Continental Corporation. Ms. Tocklin is a trustee of George Washington University.

Joe B. Wyatt, 64, is chancellor, chief executive officer, and trustee of Vanderbilt University. He has served as a director of Sonat since 1984. He is also a director of Advanced Network & Services, Inc.; Ingram Micro, Inc.; Reynolds Metals Company; The Aerostructures Corporation; and University Research Association.

Selim K. Zilkha, 72, served as the sole director and chief executive officer of Zilkha Energy from 1984 until 1998. Previously, he was a banker with Zilkha & Sons in the United States and Europe from 1947 to 1955 and in London from 1955 to 1960.

With over $15 billion in assets, El Paso Energy Corporation provides comprehensive energy solutions through its strategic business units: El Paso Natural Gas Company, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, Southern Natural Gas Company, El Paso Field Services Company, El Paso Merchant Energy Company, El Paso Production Company, and El Paso Energy International Company. The company owns North America's largest natural gas pipeline system, both in terms of throughput and miles of pipeline, and has operations in natural gas transmission, gas gathering and processing, gas and oil production, power generation, merchant energy services, and international project development. Visit El Paso Energy's web site at www.epenergy.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. While the company makes these statements and projections in good faith, neither the company nor its management can guarantee that the anticipated future results will be achieved. Reference should be made to the company's (and its affiliates') Securities and Exchange Commission filings for additional important factors that may affect actual results.