PRESS RELEASES

EPCO, Inc. and Hines Strike Deal on Downtown Office Tower

EPCO, Inc. to Relocate Houston Headquarters in 2006

11/18/2005

(HOUSTON, TX) – Hines, the international real estate firm, and privately held EPCO, Inc., announced today that an affiliate of EPCO, Inc. has purchased the 1100 Louisiana complex in downtown Houston from National Office Partners Limited Partnership (NOP), a joint venture between the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and Hines.

Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 1100 Louisiana is a 1.3 million-square-foot, 55-story office tower that includes 36,000 square feet of retail space and an adjacent 2,233-space parking garage.  EPCO, Inc. will begin to move its corporate headquarters to 1100 Louisiana from its current location in Northwest Houston during the first half of 2006.

“We are thrilled that one of Houston’s fastest growing companies chose to make the heart of the city their home in one of the premier properties in the central business district,” said Hines Senior Vice President Mark Cover.“EPCO’s decision reinforces once again the concept that as companies mature and desire to draw on the ample talent available across the metropolitan area, downtown continues to be the destination of choice.”

“With the assistance of Cushman & Wakefield, we conducted an extensive review of commercial property in Houston to serve as the new headquarters for the EPCO group of companies, and selected 1100 Louisiana as the best investment value and solution for office space to accommodate our continued growth,” said Dan L. Duncan, EPCO’s chairman.

“When we were charged with finding a building to house the consolidated operations of the EPCO companies, 1100 Louisiana stood apart from its competitive set in its ability to accommodate EPCO’s long-term growth.  Likewise, through a continued partnership with Hines, 1100 Louisiana provides exemplary value in an asset that many consider to be the premier location in Houston’s CBD,” said Steve Montgomery, a senior director with Cushman & Wakefield who, along with Angus Hughes and David Chuoke, represented EPCO, Inc. in the transaction.

Hines developed 1100 Louisiana in 1980 and sold the building to Capital Guidance Associates IV in 1985.  In 1999, National Office Partners purchased the building.  Hines has continually managed and leased the building for 25 years and will continue in this capacity.

National Office Partners was formed in 1998.  The investment partnership currently owns a portfolio of Class A office assets with a value of approximately $1 billion.  Additional NOP assets are located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle.  For further information on NOP, refer to www.noplp.com.

CalPERS is the nation’s largest public pension fund with assets totaling more than $196 billion, of which $9.4 billion is invested in real estate.  The System provides retirement and health benefits to more than one million state and public employees and their families.  For further information on CalPERS, please visit the System’s Web site at www.calpers.ca.gov.

Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The Hines portfolio of projects completed, underway, acquired and managed for third parties includes more than 800 properties representing over 285 million square feet of office, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical, sports facilities and residential properties, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments.  With offices in 63 U.S. cities and 13 foreign countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $11 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. Access www.hines.com for more information.

Currently, Hines manages more than 93 million square feet of space across the globe, of which 16 million square feet are in Houston alone.  Other office buildings Hines owns and/or manages in downtown Houston include:  Bank of America Center, Calpine Center, JPMorgan Chase Tower, One Shell Plaza, Pennzoil Place and Two Shell Plaza.

Formed in 1968, EPCO, Inc. and its affiliates own significant equity interests in three publicly traded partnerships:  Enterprise Products Partners L.P., Enterprise GP Holdings L.P. and TEPPCO Partners, L.P., including their general partners.  Each of these partnerships has their headquarters in Houston.  The combined enterprise value of these partnerships is approximately $25 billion.