HOUSTON, TEXAS, July 11, 2001—El Paso Natural Gas Company, a subsidiary of El Paso Corporation (NYSE:EPG), announced the return to service of its 1103 pipeline near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The company has been working closely with the Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), an agency of the Department of Transportation, to verify the integrity of this line and ensure its safety following a rupture that occurred on August 19, 2000. After a review of El Paso's inspection data and verification of the integrity of the 1103 line, the OPS approved El Paso's request to return the line to service at a reduced pressure on July 6, 2001.

Following the incident on August 19, the Office of Pipeline Safety issued a Corrective Action Order outlining, among other things, the steps it required El Paso Natural Gas to follow before allowing the pipeline's return to service. El Paso has completed all of the steps relating to returning Line 1103 to service and has reviewed the inspection data with the OPS to ensure that all requirements were satisfactorily completed. El Paso is committed to ensuring that its pipeline integrity program meets or exceeds all safety regulations and that all requirements of the Corrective Action Order are fulfilled.

Returning Line 1103 to service will not have an immediate effect on transportation volumes on the El Paso Natural Gas system because an adjacent line, Line 1110, was simultaneously taken out of service on July 6 so that the company may begin performing work on that line.

The company continues to review, identify, and modify the remainder of its system to ensure that the integrity of the pipeline continues to meet or exceed all industry and safety standards. The company will continue to enhance this program as new technologies and information become available.

Visit El Paso at www.elpaso.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.