GULF PIPELINE REROUTED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

Texaco Inc. will reroute a planned crude oil pipeline at added cost to reduce the risk of harm to the East Flower Garden Bank National Marine Sanctuary in the western Gulf of Mexico. The Flower Garden banks are coral reefs about 12 miles apart. Texaco, operator and a 50-50 partner with Union Oil Co. of California, originally planned to lay the pipeline between the east and west banks.