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The Commission has approved a request from El Paso Energy Corp. to divest the U-T Offshore System, L.L.C. to Mid Louisiana Gas Transmission Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Midcoast Energy Resources, Inc. The divestiture is required by a proposed consent order arising from El Paso's acquisition of Coastal Corp., which was announced for public comment by the FTC on January 29, 2001. Through this action, El Paso/Coastal has received Commission approval to sell the U-T Offshore System to Mid Louisiana Gas Transmission Company. The Commission vote to approve the divestiture was 5-0. (FTC File No. 001-0086, Docket No. C-3996; staff contact is Daniel P. Ducore, 202-326-2526; see press releases dated January 29 and February 9, 2001.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC's Web site at and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the . The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

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