|
ENRON ANNOUNCES FINANCIAL CLOSE OF
CAPITALIZATION OF YPFB'S TRANSPORTATION SEGMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, May 19, 1997
HOUSTON -- Enron International announced today the financial close of the capitalization of the transportation segment of Bolivia's state oil and gas company, Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Boliviano (YPFB).
In December 1996, Enron and Shell International Gas Ltd. were named the winning bidders in the capitalization of the transportation segment by the Bolivian government. With financial close, each company acquires a 25 percent stake in the transportation assets including 1,655 miles of existing natural gas pipelines, 1,438 miles of existing oil/liquids pipelines and ownership in the Bolivia-to-Brazil Pipeline Project, for an equally shared equity investment of U.S. $263.5 million. The remaining interest in the transportation assets is held by the Bolivian pension funds (34 percent) and by current and former employees of YPFB (16 percent). The newly formed company created by the capitalization is TRANSREDES, S.A.
"We are proud to contribute to positioning Bolivia as the natural gas hub of Latin America's southern cone and to the enhancement of the economic integration of the region," said Kenneth L. Lay, chairman and CEO of Enron Corp.
As the capitalizing company, TRANSREDES will invest the U.S. $263.5 million over the next eight years to upgrade the existing system to meet national energy requirements, and to ensure that sufficient gas can be transported to meet market demand in Brazil and to build the Bolivia-to-Brazil Pipeline Project.
Enron and Shell each hold a 29 percent interest in the Bolivian portion of the pipeline project and Enron, Shell, and the Bolivian pension funds together own 33 percent of the overall Bolivia-to-Brazil pipeline project.
Enron Corp., one of the world's largest integrated natural gas and electricity companies with approximately $15 billion in assets, operates one of the largest natural gas transmission systems in the world; is the largest purchaser and marketer of natural gas and the largest non-regulated marketer of electricity in North America; is a leading participant in liberalized energy markets in the United Kingdom and the Nordic Countries; markets natural gas liquids worldwide; manages the largest portfolio of fixed-price natural gas risk management contracts in the world; is among the leading entities arranging new capital to the energy industry; owns a majority interest in Enron Oil & Gas Company, one of the largest independent (non-integrated) exploration and production companies in the United States; owns a majority interest in Enron Global Power & Pipelines L.L.C., which is owner and manager of operating power plants and natural gas pipelines around the world; is one of the largest independent developers and producers of electricity in the world; and is a major supplier of solar and wind renewable energy worldwide. Enron is traded under the ticker symbol, "ENE."
For additional information please contact:
Deborah Witmer
713-853-3078
 |
