Houston, Texas, October 20, 1999-El Paso Energy Corporation (NYSE:EPG) announced today, in cooperation with other Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) members, that its regulated pipelines will be Y2K ready on the rollover date of January 1, 2000. These pipelines include the El Paso Natural Gas Pipeline system, the Tennessee Gas Pipeline system, the Midwestern Gas Transmission system, the East Tennessee Natural Gas Pipeline system and the Mojave Pipeline system. These pipelines have completed the remediation and testing of all critical devices and information technology systems. The pipelines successfully conducted Y2K contingency plan mock drills in August 1999 and September 1999. Many of the critical business partners also participated in some of these tests. The company will continue to test, modify and adjust contingency plans throughout the year, as additional information becomes available.

The company plans to closely monitor operations and transactions during the rollover. The company's Year 2000 program has included, among other things, efforts to obtain assurances from critical business partners that their products are year 2000 compliant. However, the company cannot predict the potential consequences of the failure of third parties or their products to be Year 2000 compliant. The company continues to evaluate the Y2K aspects of such business partner relationships and will use the contingency planning process to attempt to mitigate the uncertainty. More details of El Paso Energy's Year 2000 program can be found in various Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

The above disclosure is a "YEAR 2000 READINESS DISCLOSURE" made with the intention to comply fully with the Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act of 1998, Pub. L. No. 105-271, 112 Stat, 2386, signed into law October 19, 1998. All statements made herein shall be construed within the confines of that Act. This disclosure is made for the SOLE PURPOSE of communicating or disclosing information aimed at correcting, helping to correct and/or avoid Year 2000 failures.

With over $10 billion in assets, El Paso Energy Corporation provides energy solutions through its strategic business units: Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, El Paso Natural Gas Company, El Paso Field Services Company, El Paso Power Services Company, El Paso Merchant Energy Company, and El Paso Energy International Company. The company owns the nation's only integrated coast-to-coast natural gas pipeline system and has operations in natural gas transmission, gas gathering and processing, power generation, energy marketing, and international energy infrastructure development. On June 10, the stockholders of both El Paso Energy and Sonat Inc. overwhelmingly voted in favor of merging the two organizations. The merger is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, concurrent with the completion of regulatory reviews. 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.