HOUSTON, TEXAS, May 5, 2000—Stockholders of El Paso Energy Corporation (NYSE:EPG) and The Coastal Corporation (NYSE:CGP) took major steps today toward completing the merger of Coastal into a subsidiary of El Paso Energy. El Paso Energy stockholders overwhelmingly authorized the company to issue the required shares of common stock to complete the $16 billion pooling of interests transaction with Coastal. Echoing the strong support expressed by the El Paso stockholders, Coastal stockholders voted to approve the terms of the merger at a separate meeting.

Each share of Coastal common stock and Class A common stock will be converted on a tax-free basis into 1.23 shares of El Paso Energy common stock, each share of $1.19 Series A convertible preferred stock and $1.83 Series B convertible preferred stock will be converted to 9.133 shares of El Paso Energy common stock, and each share of $5.00 Series C convertible preferred stock will be converted to 17.980 shares of El Paso Energy common stock. Outstanding Coastal stock options will be exchanged for El Paso Energy common stock. Coastal stockholders should not send in their stock certificates at this time. After the transaction closes, Coastal stockholders will receive written instructions for exchanging their common and preferred Coastal stock for El Paso common stock.

Today's votes advance the companies toward their goal of completing the merger and thus creating the nation's leading full-service energy provider. The combined company will be the only top tier player in every segment of the domestic natural gas value chain-production, processing, transmission, wholesale marketing, and merchant power. The natural gas transmission system for the combined company will consist of 58,000 miles of pipeline, spanning the U.S. from California to New England and from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. The combined company will have a leading asset position in the fastest growing producing areas in the U.S. and will have ownership in 8,000 net megawatts of power generation.

"I am extremely pleased by this strong vote of confidence from our stockholders," said William A. Wise, president and chief executive officer of El Paso Energy. "With this mandate from our stockholders, we look forward to completing the merger and moving quickly to realize the tremendous breakout opportunities offered by this powerful network of assets. There is tremendous optionality embedded in our combined assets-from our traditional natural gas markets and our emerging LNG business to our new businesses in telecommunications and Europe. We are entering an unparalleled new phase in value creation for our shareholders."

David A. Arledge, chairman and chief executive officer of The Coastal Corporation, concurred. "Today's vote is further evidence that our stockholders clearly recognize the benefits of this potent combination of assets. In this merger, we have assembled the intellectual capital and asset base to become the pre-eminent North American natural gas company. The combined company will have tremendous earnings power fueled by the strong market for natural gas and the extension of our core skills into new geographic and commodity markets, including crude oil, refined products, and bandwidth."

On January 18, 2000, El Paso Energy and The Coastal Corporation announced their plan to merge. The merger, valued at $16 billion, includes approximately $6 billion of assumed debt and preferred equity. The transaction, which is subject to approvals by the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

With over $16 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.

The Coastal Corporation is a Houston-based energy holding company with consolidated assets of $15 billion and subsidiary operations in natural gas transmission, storage, gathering/processing and marketing; oil and gas exploration and production; petroleum refining, marketing and distribution; chemicals; power production; and coal. Coastal's World Wide Web site at www.coastalcorp.com provides additional information on the company.

The Coastal Corporation Media Relations Contact
Greg Clock
Director
Office: 713-877-3993
Fax: 713-877-3299

The Coastal Corporation Investor Relations Contact
Stirling D. Pack
Vice President
Office: 713-877-6924
Fax: 713-877-1102

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, including, without limitation, oil and gas prices; general economic and weather conditions in geographic regions or markets served by El Paso Energy and The Coastal Corporation and their affiliates, or where operations of the companies and their affiliates are located; inability to realize anticipated synergies and cost savings on a timely basis; difficulty in integration of operations; and competition. While the companies make these statements and projections in good faith, neither company 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 (SEC) filings for additional important factors that may affect actual results.