Message from Jim Yardley

Safety is a top priority for the natural gas industry and a core value at El Paso Corporation. We’re committed to safe operations across our businesses, as well as the safety of our employees, contractors, and the public. To back that commitment, we have comprehensive maintenance, safety, and integrity programs to address the various issues that all underground utilities face.

Incident statistics in the industry show that third-party damage – where someone inadvertently strikes and damages a natural gas pipeline – is the leading cause of damage to underground utilities. To address that issue, El Paso is a founding member and supporter of the Common Ground Alliance (CGA), a national organization that seeks to reduce damage to underground utilities. The CGA and its members helped launch the new 811 national one-call damage prevention hotline number. Partnering with the CGA and other industry organizations, such as the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, ensures our safety programs are incorporating the best safety practices from across the industry.

The federal government, through its office of Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in the Department of Transportation, has issued comprehensive pipeline safety regulations, including requiring a specific pipeline integrity management program. El Paso’s integrity management program not only meets, but exceeds the federal regulations.

For our part, in-line inspections of our pipelines are being conducted under El Paso’s pipeline integrity inspection program and first time inline inspections are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2012, in accordance with all federal requirements. At year-end 2009, El Paso had inspected 86 percent of its pipelines at least once, and more than once in some areas, as part of its ongoing Pipeline Integrity Program (PIP). By year-end 2010, our goal is to achieve 92 percent completion. The PIP effort focuses on making the company’s onshore pipelines, six inches or larger in diameter, capable of being inspected using in-line inspection tools and is part of El Paso’s comprehensive pipeline maintenance, inspection, and integrity program. The PIP effort also incorporates re-inspection of pipeline segments at defined intervals.

You may be aware that pipelines’ rights-of-way are identified with permanent markers. These markers contain operational information and emergency contact numbers for the public’s use. El Paso routinely inspects its pipeline rights-of-way throughout the year, including vehicle and aerial patrols with helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft, to check for indications of leaks, encroachments, construction activity, condition of terrain, and other factors that might affect safety and operation. El Paso patrols its pipelines an average of every five weeks, in some areas as frequently as every two weeks, as part of the company’s continuing pipeline surveillance program.

In addition, El Paso uses real-time, electronic monitoring of its pipeline systems 24/7, 365 days a year. To do this, our pipelines are linked to the company’s regional gas control centers, enabling technicians to know at a glance the status of our pipelines.

The nearly 5,000 employees of El Paso Corporation are committed to safety across our operations, particularly our pipeline safety and integrity programs. Please take a moment to review the materials on this site to gain a better understanding of the programs and measures we take in support of that commitment.

*Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-looking Statements