Coastal Joint Venture Opens Terminal in Tallinn.

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 12, 1996--The Coastal Corporation announced today that Coastal Baltica Holding Company Ltd., a company jointly owned by a Coastal subsidiary and Baltica Finance N.V., had commenced operations at its Tallinn terminal and new port facilities on the Baltic Sea.

"We are very pleased to open the Tallinn terminal today," said David A. Arledge, chief executive officer of The Coastal Corporation, who spoke at the grand opening ceremony today in Tallinn, attended by top government officials from Estonia, Scandonavia, and Russia. "This new terminal operation will benefit the energy future of Estonia with the import and export of almost 2.5 million metric tons (16 million barrels) of petroleum products annually."

"With the opening of the terminal today, Tallinn and Estonia now have a geographical advantage second to none in the Baltic Region," said Jacob van der Zwan, vice president of Baltica Finance N.V. and a director of Coastal Baltica Holding Company Ltd., the joint-venture company, who was also present.

The joint venture recently completed its refurbishment of the Tallinn terminal and its construction of a new 4.6-mile (7.5-km) pipeline connecting the terminal with the Port of Muuga, one of the deepest ports on the Baltic. Today's opening of the Tallinn terminal marks the official start-up of the marketing of petroleum products primarily from Russia and the former republics of the Soviet Union to markets in Europe, North and South America, and the Caribbean.

The Tallinn terminal is operated by E.O.S. Ltd., an Estonian subsidiary of Coastal Baltica Holding. E.O.S. Ltd. is in the process of finalizing its purchase of the owner of the terminal, AS Termoil, and its parent company, AS Esoil, the state-owned Estonian petroleum company offered for sale by the Estonian Privatization Agency. Other subsidiaries of AS Esoil included in the acquisition are AS EK, which owns and operates 38 retail gasoline stations and a wholesale lubricant and fuels marketing operation; AS Tartu Terminaal, which owns and operates a terminal handling gasoline, diesel fuel, and fuel oil in southern Estonia; and Parnu Terminaal, which owns and operates a fuel oil and gasoline terminal on Estonia's southwestern coast.

Coastal Baltica Holding Company Ltd., a corporation owned by Baltica Finance N.V. and Coastal CFC Ltd., a subsidiary of Coastal, was formed to develop and expand the Tallinn terminal and to market petroleum and petroleum products primarily from Russia and the former republics of the Soviet Union.

Baltica Finance N.V., a Swedish-Dutch company, has been involved through its subsidiaries in commercial activities in the former Soviet Union and the Baltic Republics for many years, particularly in the areas of the energy, shipping, forestry, and deep-sea fishing industries.

The Coastal Corporation (NYSE: CGP) is a Houston-based energy holding company with consolidated assets of more than $10 billion and subsidiary operations in natural gas marketing, transmission, and storage; petroleum refining and marketing; oil and gas exploration and production; coal; chemicals; and power production.

CONTACT: The Coastal Corporation, Houston

Steve Eames, 713/877-6733

or Brian Mitchell, 713/877-3993