Following a report of accelerated losses in last year’s fourth quarter, El Paso Corp. followed up Thursday with a long-range planning update in which it intends to get out of all noncore businesses and pay down debt quicker in hopes of hitting net income of up to $750 million next year, the company told financial analysts at a conference it hosted in Houston. This follows a reported net loss in 2004 of more than $1 billion announced by the company Wednesday.

Compared to a net loss of nearly $2 billion reported in 2003, El Paso’s CEO Doug Foshee presented the 2004 results as a “foundation” for a turnaround, and on Thursday he outlined the company’s plan for getting back in the black by next year, noting that the company has “made solid progress” since announcing its last long-range plan in December 2003.

“While we remain focused on reducing debt and costs, we are also building for the future by expanding our pipeline and production businesses,” Foshee told analysts on Thursday. “The opportunities in the natural gas industry are outstanding and we are well positioned to build new transmission infrastructure, locate new production sources, and deliver these supplies to the marketplace.”

El Paso committed to netting between $1.2 billion and $1.6 billion by selling or “completing the evaluation of sale” for all of its remaining natural gas processing assets and its remaining domestic and foreign power plants, other than those in Brazil, by the end of 2006, Foshee said. And he expected debt — net of cash — to be “below $15 billion” in that same time period.

Other financial targets for being in the black in 2006 include:

“Key business drivers [in its pipeline business] will include major expansions, cost control, and continued success in capacity re-contracting efforts,” Foshee said. In addition, he contended that El Paso is “making substantial progress in turning around its production business,” citing onshore operations that involve coal-bed methane, Rockies, east Texas, and north Louisiana basins.

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