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Press Release

For Immediate Release
Washington, D.C.,
November 30, 1999

PRCI announced today it has restructured itself into Pipeline Research Council International, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation comprised of 25 natural gas transmission pipeline companies from the U.S, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia..

In addition to retaining the PRCI acronym, PRCI President George W. Tenley, Jr., said the new organization will continue to anticipate and address system design and operating problems with the goal of enhancing pipeline integrity and reliability.

PRCI is "the preeminent collaborative technology development program of, by, and for the pipeline industry," Tenley said, adding that one of the primary reasons for the corporate restructuring is to ensure that PRCI will continue to be a key player in assuring the role of technology in enhancing system integrity and reliability as the energy industry continues to change.

Since 1952, PRCI and its predecessors have been unincorporated affiliates of the American Gas Association (AGA), which has provided administrative and program support to the conduct of PRCI's technical program. As AGA refocused its efforts on the distribution sector of the natural gas industry, the nexus between its interests and those of the pipeline industry have diverged. That led PRCI to reposition itself to better serve the collaborative technology needs of the pipeline industry. In reflecting on PRCI's long relationship with AGA, PRCI Board Chairman Per Mørch Sørensen noted that "the mutual benefits derived by AGA and PRCI from their long relationship have played an important role in the steady growth of natural gas as an energy of choice, and we will be working on ways to build a new relationship with this world-class organization."

Along with its new corporate structure, PRCI will broaden its perspectives and membership to include crude oil and petroleum products pipelines. The new PRCI will serve the technology needs of "energy pipelines", Mr. Sørensen said, adding that "like all other components that make up the energy pipeline value chain, technology must continually demonstrate its ability to sustain and increase the value of the pipeline asset, and to foster the successful achievement of business goals; and among those goals, we will continue to focus on system integrity and reliability."

To learn more about PRCI, including how to access its large inventory of technology products, visit the PRCI website at www.prci.com.

For more information contact: George W. Tenley, Jr., President
Pipeline Research Council International, Inc.
Tel: 703-526-7829
email: gtenley@prci.org

Beginning on January 1, 2000,
PRCI's address will be:
1600 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 900
Arlington, Virginia 22209-2505

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