HOUSTON, TEXAS, February 5, 2001—El Paso Corporation (NYSE:EPG), the largest and most broadly based natural gas company in the world, began its annual analyst meeting in Houston today at 3:00 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST). Copies of the slides being presented as well as a live audio Web cast are available on the company's Web site at www.epenergy.com/investor.

At today's meeting, William A. Wise, El Paso's chairman, president and chief executive officer, and members of the company's management team are reviewing many of the company's strategies and initiatives to achieve 20-percent plus earnings growth in 2001. El Paso's Merchant Energy segment, which now includes El Paso's North American natural gas and power merchant operations, the company's international assets, and the petroleum assets and trading obtained through the Coastal merger, is expected to deliver $1.2 billion in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in 2001. The company expects long-term growth for the segment to exceed 25 percent. The North American operations are expected to generate $700 million of 2001 EBIT, up almost 40 percent from El Paso's standalone 2000 EBIT. El Paso Merchant Energy is aggressively extending its merchant model to new markets in worldwide petroleum, global liquefied natural gas, Europe, and Brazil.

El Paso also is introducing its telecommunications strategy at this meeting. El Paso Global Networks is pursuing a strategy that will leverage El Paso's knowledge of commodity and capital markets with telecommunications market skills in order to identify and capture value in the emerging telecommunications industry. El Paso Global Networks' strategy of end-to-end liquidity includes three major components-access to fiber deep within metro markets to aggregate supply in major U.S. cities; utilizing fiber rings and key points of interconnection of major carriers and service providers to allow for liquidity to develop in major markets; and a high-capacity, fiber-efficient national long-haul backbone. El Paso Global Networks will overlay against this asset base a merchant-based operating support system and valuation models that will allow the company to apply the merchant skills developed in El Paso's core energy businesses to this rapidly changing market. El Paso Global Networks expects to invest approximately $2 billion in capital over the next four years to develop this business.

El Paso Global Networks is building and acquiring fiber assets throughout the United States. The company is finalizing the deployment of an extensive fiber optic network in the major Texas markets that will be the first step in its national deployment of El Paso Global Networks' end-to-end liquidity strategy. To date, El Paso Global Networks has been one of the most active market makers in the emerging bandwidth trading market, having completed more than 260 transactions covering approximately two billion DS-0 miles since the beginning of 2000, including the industry's first bandwidth option.

"The opportunity to extend our merchant platform to the telecommunications industry offers significant value creation potential for our shareholders," said Wise. "El Paso Global Networks brings a unique vision to the telecommunications industry, and has made significant progress to duplicate the success that El Paso Merchant Energy has achieved in the natural gas and power markets. We expect this business to generate positive operating cash flow by the end of 2003, but more importantly, we firmly believe that El Paso Global Networks has created $7 billion to $10 billion of current value based upon opportunities that have already been identified."

El Paso Production Company, one of North America's largest natural gas producers, expects to achieve an average daily production rate of 1.85 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day. Approximately 75 percent of its expected 2001 production is hedged at an average NYMEX price of $3.70 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf). The company expects to generate $1.3 billion of EBIT for 2001 assuming a March through December 2001 average NYMEX spot price of $5.50 per Mcf.

El Paso expects to generate $1.7 billion in net income-or $3.25 per share-in 2001, a 21-percent increase over 2000. Non-regulated businesses are expected to continue to grow rapidly and generate 67 percent of total EBIT.

The analyst meeting will resume at 8:00 a.m. CST on February 6. Presentation slides and a live Web cast will again be available on the company's Web site.

El Paso Corporation is the largest and most broadly based natural gas company in the world with global operations that span the energy value chain. With an enterprise value in excess of $50 billion, the company owns and operates a significant portion of the North American natural gas delivery grid, holds a substantial power portfolio, and is the nation's third largest natural gas producer. El Paso, a leader in real options valuation and risk management techniques, is focused on maximizing shareholder value, transforming existing markets, and speeding the development of new markets. Visit El Paso 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.