HOUSTON, TEXAS, April 5, 2001—El Paso Natural Gas Company (EPNG), a subsidiary of El Paso Corporation (NYSE:EPG), announced the responses to an open season for possible expansion of its existing pipeline system.  The open season, which began March 2, 2001 and continued through March 23, 2001, was posted as a result of the many responses received in EPNG's recent bidding process for available existing capacity.  In this latest open season, the company received 127 responses requesting a total of approximately 9.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of capacity.

A total of 76 responses were received requesting approximately 4.5 Bcf/d for deliveries to the border or inside the State of California.  A total of 51 responses were received requesting a volume of approximately 5.2 Bcf/d for deliveries to states east of California.

The open season allowed parties to express non-binding interest in firm natural gas transportation service to support an expansion of El Paso's existing mainline transmission system.  It also allowed current shippers to express their non-binding interest in relinquishing some or all of their existing capacity that might be used to serve proposed new loads.  No current shipper indicated a desire to relinquish any of its existing capacity.

"El Paso Natural Gas is pleased with the response to this open season," said Patricia A. Shelton, president of El Paso Natural Gas Company.  "We are willing to expand our system if this strong showing of support from the marketplace results in sufficient binding commitments."

El Paso Natural Gas will now begin negotiating binding firm transportation agreements with the responding parties and identifying appropriate facilities to possibly expand its system.  Upon execution of firm transportation service agreements, the company will finalize the optimum facility design and then file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the necessary authorization for an expansion.

Shippers with questions should contact their Transportation Marketing Representative or Mr. Jerry W. Strange, Director of Transportation Marketing at (915) 496-3139.  Media inquiries should be directed to Kimberly Wallace at (713) 420-6330.

El Paso Corporation, the largest and most broadly based natural gas company in the world, spans the energy value chain from wellhead to electron.  With an enterprise value in excess of $50 billion, El Paso is a leader in every phase of the natural gas industry.  The company owns and operates a significant portion of the North American natural gas delivery grid, operates the fastest growing, most sophisticated energy merchant group, and is the nation's third largest natural gas producer.  El Paso, a leader in risk management techniques, is focused on maximizing shareholder value, transforming existing markets, and speeding the development of new markets.  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.