NiSource Gas Transmission & Storage and Willbros Complete Long-Term Alliance Agreement

Under the alliance concept, a joint leadership team of NGT&S and Willbros members will identify, develop, define and evaluate concepts from a commercial perspective. Willbros will provide services necessary to advance concepts to sufficient detail for construction and/or budget approval, and, upon approval, Willbros would execute a work order for any combination of services in the execution of projects and programs on the NGT&S system.

"We are pleased to have finalized this alliance, and look forward to working with Willbros to achieve a higher level of performance as we meet the changing demands of our business environment," said Christopher Helms, NGT&S Pipeline Group President.

Randy Harl, President and CEO of Willbros, added, "We have been working with NGT&S for the past six months, refining our role as program manager for the NGT&S capital, maintenance, GIS and Integrity programs. This joint activity has already yielded significant benefits to both NGT&S and Willbros in the execution and development of the 2009 and 2010 programs. Through this alliance we will jointly develop and execute the best solutions for the management, maintenance and expansion of NiSource Gas Transmission & Storage Company's pipeline system. We are pleased to be joining with NGT&S in this approach to managing and maintaining complex pipeline systems and continue to appreciate the confidence they have shown in our abilities."

NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI), based in Merrillville, Ind., is a Fortune 500 company engaged in natural gas transmission, storage and distribution, as well as electric generation, transmission and distribution. NiSource operating companies deliver energy to 3.8 million customers located within the high-demand energy corridor stretching from the Gulf Coast through the Midwest to New England. Information about NiSource and its subsidiaries is available via the Internet at www.nisource.com.

Willbros Group, Inc. is an independent contractor serving the oil, gas, power, refining and petrochemical industries, providing engineering, construction, turnaround, maintenance, life cycle extension services and facilities development and operations services to industry and government entities worldwide. For more information on Willbros, please visit our web site at www.willbros.com.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, which address activities, events or developments the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, are forward-looking statements. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements, including the potential for additional investigations; the disruptions to the global credit markets; the current global recession; the possible losses arising from the discontinuation of operations and the sale of the Nigeria assets; fines and penalties by government agencies; the identification of one or more other issues that require restatement of one or more prior period financial statements; the existence of material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting; availability of quality management; availability and terms of capital; changes in, or the failure to comply with, government regulations; ability to remain in compliance with, or obtain waivers under, the Company's loan agreements and indentures; the promulgation, application, and interpretation of environmental laws and regulations; future E&P capital expenditures; oil, gas, gas liquids, and power prices and demand, the amount and location of planned pipelines, the refinery crack spread and planned refinery outages and upgrades, the effective tax rate of the different countries where the work is being conducted, development trends of the oil, gas, power, refining and petrochemical industries; changes in the political and economic environment of the countries in which the Company has operations, as well as other risk factors described from time to time in the Company's documents and reports filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update publicly such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.