Petal Gas Storage Company Announces Natural Gas Storage Expansion Project to Include New Interconnects with Transco, Southern Natural Gas and Destin Pipelines

Business Wire, July 7, 1998

SHREVEPORT, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 7, 1998--Petal Gas Storage Company ("Petal"), a subsidiary of Crystal Oil Company (AMEX:COR) announced today plans for an expansion of its high deliverability salt cavern storage facility near Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

The proposed expansion would include leaching an additional salt cavern with a storage capacity of 5 billion cubic feet ("BCF") of natural gas of which 3.0 BCF would be working gas. The new cavern when combined with the existing 5.2 BCF cavern (3.2 BCF working gas) would have a total withdrawal capacity of 600 million cubic feet of gas per day.

The existing facilities at Petal have bi-directional interconnects with both Tennessee Gas Pipeline and Koch Gateway Pipeline through a 20 inch line. The expansion proposal would include additional pipeline facilities with bi-directional interconnects with Transco, Southern Natural Gas and Destin Pipelines. Petal will offer traditional 10-day withdrawal service as well as balancing, forwarding, parking and emergency backup services from all the facility's pipeline interconnections. Petal plans to distribute an open season package outlining the details of the expansion and the various storage services to be offered in the near future and will also seek FERC authorization for the expansion.

Joe Averett, President of Crystal Oil Company commented, "The strategic location of Petal Gas Storage Company's salt cavern storage with its characteristics of high deliverability and high injection rates combined with the opportunity to provide service to five major pipeline systems is an exciting opportunity for Petal and the customers of Petal. Including this proposed expansion and the current storage capacity at Petal Gas Storage and Hattiesburg Gas Storage, Crystal will own, through its subsidiaries, 15.8 BCF of high deliverability salt cavern natural gas storage."

Crystal Oil Company is an acquisition company with a focus on natural gas storage and transportation and natural gas and crude oil exploration and production.

    CONTACT:  Petal Gas Storage Company
               David Hayden, 318/677-5511
               Jeff Ballew, 318/677-5512