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Gas News Release
July 19, 1999
Tennessee Gas Pipeline And CNG Transmission Announce The
Atlantic Alliance Project
HOUSTON, TEXAS, and CLARKSBURG, W.VIRGINIA -Tennessee
Gas Pipeline Company, a business unit of El Paso Energy Corporation (NYSE:EPG),
and CNG Transmission Corporation, a subsidiary of Consolidated Natural Gas Company
(NYSE: CNG), announced today the Atlantic Alliance Project to jointly offer seamless
natural gas transportation service of up to 750,000 dekatherms per day from the
Chicago market center and the Niagara Import Point into eastern markets.
The Atlantic Alliance will combine the use of existing facilities
and rights-of-way with construction of limited incremental facilities to provide
the new services. Construction will be in phases to correspond to customer service
requests. However, the full 750,000 dekatherms per day could be available as
early as November 1, 2001.
John Somerhalder, president of Tennessee Gas Pipeline, stated
"With the Atlantic Alliance, Tennessee and CNG are able to capture operational
efficiencies between their systems to offer a competitive service that can be
phased in as the market evolves. With the uncertainties that exist in today's
market, the Atlantic Alliance represents a rational way to address growth as
it occurs."
The Atlantic Alliance will target developing markets in New
York, Pennsylvania and New England. It will include access to Transco and the
proposed MarketLink Project at Leidy, Pa., and to Columbia and the proposed
Millennium Project at Horseheads or Greenwood, N.Y. The Atlantic Alliance rate
from Chicago to western New York or Pennsylvania will be approximately $0.47
per dekatherm. Because of the extensive use of existing facilities, the Atlantic
Alliance will be able to offer service quickly, with 100,000 dekatherms per
day available this winter. Ron Adams, CNG senior vice president in charge of
regulated business, said " We find the emerging power generation market
to be an exciting opportunity for CNG and Tennessee. Together, we can offer
this market highly competitive services timed to meet its needs while remaining
sensitive to environmental and landowner issues."
An open season is planned for the Atlantic Alliance in August,
with additional details available later this month.
With over $10 billion in assets, El Paso Energy Corporation
provides energy solutions through five business units: Tennessee Gas Pipeline
Company, El Paso Natural Gas Company, El Paso Field Services Company, El Paso
Energy Marketing Company, and El Paso Energy International Company. The company
owns the nation's only integrated coast-to-coast natural gas pipeline system
and has operations in interstate natural gas transmission, gas gathering and
processing, energy marketing, and international infrastructure development.
On June 10, the stockholders of both El Paso Energy and Sonat Inc. overwhelmingly
voted in favor of merging the two organizations. The merger is expected to close
in the third or fourth quarter of this year, concurrent with the completion
of regulatory reviews. Visit El Paso Energy's web site at www.epenergy.com
CNG Transmission, headquartered in Clarksburg, W.Va., is
the interstate natural gas transmission subsidiary of Pittsburgh-based Consolidated
Natural Gas Company, a fully integrated natural gas company. CNG is in the process
of merging with Dominion Resources, Inc., to become the one of the nation's
largest integrated energy companies, with 4 million customers, 20,000 megawatts
of electric generating capacity, and more than 3 trillion cubic feet equivalent
of oil and natural gas reserves. CNG Transmission provides gas transportation
and storage services to other major pipelines and to markets in the Midwest,
Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast regions of the country.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
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.
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For further information contact:
Dan Donovan
412-690-1370
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