EXHIBIT 99






          CONTACT:   Linda S. Lennox
                     Director of Corporate Communications and Investor
          Relations
                     Tel: (908) 719-4222
                     E-mail: llennox@nui.com


          FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


           NUI CORP. AFFILIATE, TIC ENTERPRISES, SELECTED BY U. S. POSTAL
                      SERVICE TO PROVIDE NATIONWIDE SALES FORCE

          Bedminster, NJ -  December 6, 1999 -- NUI Corporation (NYSE:NUI)
          today announced that its sales outsourcing affiliate, TIC
          Enterprises, LLC (TIC), was chosen by the United States Postal
          Service (USPS) as the result of a competitive bidding process to
          nationally market its expedited delivery services, which include
          Priority Mail, Express Mail, Global Priority Mail and Express
          Mail International Service.  In order to effectively meet
          delivery standards, the USPS divides the Country into four
          regional areas, with each region including three major
          metropolitan areas.  The USPS awarded TIC the opportunity to
          market its services in all four regions of the Country.  Based
          upon the initial rollout, which does not include secondary
          cities, the USPS projects that this contract could generate
          approximately $700 million in incremental revenue to the USPS
          over three years.  The USPS expects to continue the expansion of
          this program throughout the entire United States during the same
          period.

          TIC President, James Greiff, stated, "TIC's excellence in
          providing an outstanding sales force is unmatched.  This
          agreement represents a major step in the execution of our
          strategy to broaden our product mix beyond telecommunications
          offerings.  Partnering with the USPS provides an additional
          marketplace for TIC to continue its rapid growth.  Including this
          contract, TIC's total annual revenues could well exceed $200
          million within three years."

          Greiff went on to add, "We take pride in aligning ourselves with
          organizations that provide high quality, reliable and
          competitively priced services, such as the USPS.  We are honored
          to have been selected to assist the USPS in fulfilling its vision
          for the future."

          NUI President and Chief Executive Officer, John Kean, Jr.,
          stated, "During the past five years, the demand for overnight and
          other expedited delivery services has dramatically increased due,
          in part, to the rapid growth of mail order businesses and e-
          commerce.  The demand for these services is expected to continue
          to grow rapidly as more and more consumers choose to make
          purchases over the Internet.  The USPS has made significant
          investments to strengthen its position as a leader in this
          market.  We believe that our face-to-face sales strategy will
          uniquely position the USPS to capture a significant share of the
          expedited delivery market."

          For more than 10 years, TIC has successfully created, managed and
          expanded national sales forces for Fortune 100 clients.  The USPS
          joins a list of world-class organizations that have chosen TIC to
          help them grow their businesses, such as Lucent Technologies,
          Nextel Communications, Qwest Communications and AT&T.

          NUI Corporation, based in Bedminster, NJ, owns 49 percent of TIC
          Enterprises.  In addition, NUI operates natural gas utilities
          serving more than 370,000 customers in six states along the
          eastern seaboard.  NUI also operates businesses involved in
          wholesale and retail energy sales; energy and environmental
          project development; energy consulting; telecommunications; and
          customer and geographic information systems and services.

          This press release contains forward-looking statements.  These
          statements are based on our management's current expectations and
          information currently available and we believe the statements are
          reasonable and are made in good faith.  However, the forward-
          looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that
          could cause actual results to differ materially from those
          projected in the statements.  Factors that may make the actual
          results differ from anticipated results include, but are not
          limited to, economic conditions; competition from other providers
          of similar products; and other uncertainties, all of which are
          difficult to predict and some of which are beyond our control.
          For these reasons, you should not rely on these forward-looking
          statements when making investment decisions.  Whenever we use the
          words "expect", "believe", "project", "anticipate", "intend",
          "should", "could" or similar expressions, we intend to identify
          forward-looking statements.   We do not undertake any obligation
          to update publicly any forward-looking statement, either as a
          result of new information, future events or otherwise.