El Paso sells portion of Australian pipeline assets, continues divestment plan

By OGJ editors

HOUSTON, Apr. 16 -- Houston-based El Paso Corp. Monday signed an agreement to sell its one third interest in a portion of its Australian pipeline holdings for $48 million to Hastings Funds Management Ltd., an Australian infrastructure and alternative investment management firm.

The assets include 1,180 miles of pipelines in South Australia, Queensland, and Western Australia. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.

This sale is the latest in a long list of divestments made by El Paso in an effort to reduce the company's debt, net of cash, to $15 billion by yearend 2005. To date, the company has announced or closed about $3 billion of the $3.3-3.9 billion of asset sales targeted under the plan, the company said.