• From ONEOK, Inc., Field Services purchased interests in gas gathering, treating and processing facilities in Oklahoma, Kansas and Louisiana.
• Field Services acquired from Dynegy Midstream Services Limited Partnership and GPM the Roberts Ranch processing plant in West Texas.
• Field Services agreed to purchase the natural gas gathering, processing, fractionation and NGL pipeline business of Union Pacific Resources (UPR) for $1.35 billion. Also under the agreement Duke Energy will gather and process much of UPR's U.S. production for a minimum of ten years. UPR will also dedicate for 5 years most of its natural gas and NGL production to Duke Energy for marketing.

Duke Energy continued to redraw natural gas pipeline map for Northeast U.S. in 1998. Duke Energy continued to develop natural gas assets to serve the growing needs of this region, tapping into Canadian and U.S. resources.

• Construction progressed on Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, with 83 miles of pipeline constructed by the end of 1998. The pipeline is 37.5 percent owned by affiliates of Duke Energy, 37.5 percent by Westcoast Energy Inc, 12.5 percent by Mobil Corporation and 12.5 percent by Nova Scotia Power.
• Algonquin Gas Transmission Co. announced plans to construct Algonquin HubLine, a 70-mile pipeline that will interconnect Algonquin and Maritimes & Northeast pipelines and serve new power generation facilities in the Boston area.
• Duke Energy, MarketSpan and Williams formed a joint venture to develop Cross Bay Pipeline to increase natural gas delivery capability into New York City by more than 25 percent.

Duke Energy International acquired a 51.5 percent controlling interest in Electroquil SA, an electric power generating company in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Electroquil owns and operates a four-unit 168 MW turbine power plant, which sells its output to Inecel, Ecuador's state electric utility, under power purchase agreements. At the time of the purchase, Duke Energy's newly established presence in the country was touted for the development opportunities for Duke Energy and for the development of Ecuador's energy sector and growth in the country's economy and industrial competitiveness.

Natural gas-fired power plant began commercial operation in Chile. Electrica Santiago SA, a 370 MW natural gas-fired combined cycle power plant in Santiago, Chile, began commercial operation April 1. Duke Energy International owns 24 percent of the plant which is also known as Nueva Renca. Its output is sold on the competitive grid in Chile and through customer contracts.

New Smyrna Beach power plant subject of filing, hearings. Power Services filed with the Florida Public Service Commission its plans to build and operate a natural gas-fired 500 MW wholesale merchant power plant that will provide lower cost power to the City of New Smyrna Beach and to Florida's wholesale power market. Hearings before the commission are expected to continue throughout 1999.

Duke Energy acquired greater stake in TEPPCO through sale of DETTCO. Duke Energy sold Duke Energy Transport and Trading Co. (DETTCO), which gathers, stores, transports and markets crude oil and operates two NGL pipelines. The buyer was TEPPCO Partners L.P., a publicly owned master limited partnership that transports refined products and liquefied petroleum gases through a 4,300-mile pipeline system. Through the sale, Duke Energy acquired an additional 3.9 million partnership units, raising to 21.1 percent, its ownership of TEPPCO.

FERC approved Texas Eastern's rate reduction plan. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved Texas Eastern's Customer Rate Initiative that will reduce customer rates and make the pipeline more competitive. The plan provides rate stability and certainty until 2004 and provides that Texas Eastern will assume risk of capacity turnback through 2003. Texas Eastern's long-haul rates will be reduced by approximately 17 percent.