In a letter to employees Monday, which was later filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), El Paso Corp. Chairman William Wise attempted to dispel any fears that the energy giant was in financial trouble, assuring workers it had about $1.5 billion of readily available cash, a balance sheet and credit profile that were “strong and improving,” an investment grade credit rating, and “adequate financial resources” to meet all of the company’s obligations and to maintain “profitable operations” during the current crisis facing the industry.

El Paso has taken “aggressive actions” in anticipation of the changes in the credit climate for the energy industry by initially announcing $2.25 billion in asset sales and raising $862 million of common equity, Wise told employees. This was followed up later by an announcement of an additional $800 million of asset sales, a downsizing of El Paso’s trading operations, the issuance of another $1.5 billion of equity, and $300 million of cost reductions, he said. Wise pegged the value of El Paso energy assets at $49 billion.

“In spite of these facts, our stock has experienced increasing pressure in recent weeks” due to the fallout from accounting scandals, the California energy crisis last year, and the investigations by federal regulators into energy round-trip trading activities, Wise noted.

On Thursday, El Paso stock closed out at $10.34, down 76 cents, on volume of 12,062,1000 shares. The company’s shares had been selling at five times this amount a year ago.

“While it is difficult to watch our stock price decline and to read about negative news about our industry and sometimes about our company, we can all be proud of El Paso Corporation…I cannot tell you when [a] recovery will begin or how our stock will react to future events, but I can tell you we will continue to find, produce and transport natural gas to market every day,” Wise said.

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