COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 2, 1998 -- AEP Resources Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), has completed the purchase of the midstream natural gas operations of Equitable Resources Inc. (NYSE: EQT).

The transaction, valued at $320 million plus working capital, was announced Sept. 14. Necessary regulatory approvals were obtained in the interim from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and the Louisiana Public Service Commission. The Federal Communications Commission also approved the transfer of mobile telecommunications licenses.

The midstream operations include a fully integrated natural gas gathering, processing and storage operation in Louisiana and an energy trading and marketing business based in Houston. Assets include Louisiana Intrastate Gas (LIG), a 2,000-mile intrastate pipeline system; four natural gas processing plants that straddle the pipeline, plus a fifth plant currently under construction; and Jefferson Island storage facilities, including an existing salt dome storage cavern and a second cavern under construction, both directly connected to the Henry Hub. The pipeline and storage facilities are interconnected to 12 interstate and 24 intrastate pipelines running to the major consumption markets in the Northeast, Midwest and Southeast.

"We welcome the employees of the midstream operations to the AEP family," said Donald M. Clements, president of AEP Resources. "AEP has exciting growth plans for LIG, the processing plants and the Jefferson Island storage facilities and looks forward to working with these employees to implement the plans."

AEP Resources pursues energy-related domestic and international investment opportunities and projects. AEP Resources is actively pursuing greenfield development projects or business and asset acquisition throughout North America, Latin America, Europe and the Asia/Pacific region. The company monitors global developments from its offices in Columbus, Ohio; London; Singapore; Toronto; Beijing; and Sydney, Australia.

AEP Resources owns 50 percent of Yorkshire Electricity Group, a regional electric company in the United Kingdom; 70 percent of a two-unit power plant nearing completion in Nanyang City, Henan Province, China; and 20 percent of Pacific Hydro, an Australian company that develops and operates hydroelectric facilities. In November, AEP Resources was selected to acquire CitiPower, an electricity distribution and retail sales company serving approximately 240,000 customers in Melbourne, Australia. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 1998.

AEP, a global energy company, is one of the United States’ largest investor-owned utilities, providing energy to 3 million customers in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. AEP has holdings in the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Australia. Wholly owned subsidiaries provide power engineering, energy consulting and energy management services around the world. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio. On Dec. 22, 1997, AEP announced a definitive merger agreement for a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction with Central and South West Corp., a public utility holding company based in Dallas.