Exhibit 99.a
[ONEOK LOGO] Financial News
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Post Office Box 871 Tulsa, OK 74102-0871
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For Immediate Release: January 18, 2002
Contact: Weldon Watson, 918-588-7158
ONEOK GETS WAIVER ON BUSHTON PLANT
Tulsa, Oklahoma - ONEOK, Inc., (NYSE:OKE) announced today that it has been
granted a waiver on a possible technical default related to various financing
leases tied to ONEOK's Bushton gas processing plant located in south central
Kansas. ONEOK acquired the Bushton gas processing plant and related leases from
Kinder Morgan in April 2000. Kinder Morgan had previously acquired the plant and
leases from Enron. The technical default resulted from the bankruptcy filing by
Enron, which is a guarantor of the leases in addition to Kinder Morgan and
ONEOK. The waiver satisfies any concern related to the technical default. ONEOK
will continue to make all payments due under the leases.
ONEOK, Inc., is a diversified energy company involved in oil and gas
production, natural gas processing, gathering, storage and transmission in the
mid-continent area of the United States. The company's energy marketing and
trading operations provide service to customers in 28 states. The company is
also the largest natural gas distributor in Kansas and Oklahoma, serving 1.4
million customers. ONEOK is a Fortune 500 company.
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Statements contained in this release that include company expectations or
predictions of the future are forward-looking statements intended to be covered
by the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. It is important to note that the actual results of company
earnings could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking
statements. Additional information about ONEOK is available on the ONEOK web
site at www.oneok.com. Service area maps and logos are available under Media
Kit.