Dominion News Releases

June 16, 2000

Dominion Announces Successful Appraisal of Devils Tower Deepwater Discovery

New Orleans, La. – Dominion Exploration & Production, Inc., a subsidiary of Dominion (NYSE: D), announced today confirmation of commercial quantities of hydrocarbons at its previously announced Devils Tower discovery, located about 140 miles southeast of New Orleans at Mississippi Canyon Block 773. This confirmation is the result of appraisal drilling that extended the field into an adjacent fault block.

The Mississippi Canyon 773 no.3 well was drilled to a total depth of 15,000 feet below sea level by the Homer Ferrington drilling rig in 5,610 feet of water. The well encountered hydrocarbons in three zones in a separate fault block northeast of the discovery well, the Mississippi Canyon 773 no.2 (announced February 15, 2000). The appraisal well is still being evaluated and a sidetrack well will be drilled to further delineate the accumulation.

Dominion owns a 60-percent working interest in the project and will assume operatorship after the drilling and evaluation of the Mississippi Canyon 773 no.3 and sidetrack. Mariner Energy, Inc. (presently the operator) has a 20-percent working interest. Other partners are Pioneer Natural Resources (15.83375 percent) and Westport Oil and Gas Company, Inc. (4.16625 percent).

Dominion Exploration & Production is the Dominion subsidiary that explores for and produces natural gas and oil in the United States and Canada. Its offshore unit is based in New Orleans.

Dominion is the nation's largest fully integrated gas and electric company. It has four million customers, 20,000 megawatts of electric power generation, 2.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and oil reserves, and operates North America's largest natural gas storage system. Dominion is positioned to serve the more than 50 million homes and businesses in the Midwest to Northeast quadrant of the United States.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. The company wishes to caution readers that the assumptions which form the basis for forward-looking statements with respect to or that may impact earnings for fiscal 2000, and thereafter, include many factors that are beyond the company's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as estimates of future market conditions and the behavior of other market participants. Other factors include, but are not limited to, weather conditions, economic conditions in the company's service territories, fluctuations in energy-related commodity prices, conversion activity, other marketing efforts and other uncertainties.