El Paso Gets Back to Basics, Looks to Strengthen Its Balance Sheet

Oil Daily, The, February, 2002

El Paso Gets Back to Basics, Looks to Strengthen Its Balance Sheet

El Paso still has ambitious plans in the wake of the collapse of both former energy merchant rival Enron and the market for broadband, but its goals are in areas more basic to its core business than the flashy new sectors of a year ago, company executives told investors at its annual analyst meeting.

The more realistic outlook is far different from the 2001 analyst presentation, where El Paso rolled out plans for multibillion-dollar investments in broadband and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The company still is in active in LNG, though progress has been stymied by the 75% drop in natural gas prices. However, the word broadband was never once uttered by the half-dozen El Paso executives who...