Investor Contact:                                       Media Contact:
Linda S. Lennox                                         George Koodray
Director, Investor Relations                            Director, Public Affairs
(908) 719-4222                                          (908) 470-4613
llennox@nui.com                                         gkoodray@nui.com


For Immediate Release


                   NUI CORPORATION PURSUES SALE OF THE COMPANY

                President and Chief Executive Officer Steps Down

Bedminster, NJ - September 26, 2003 - NUI Corporation (NYSE:NUI) announced today
that as a result of the negative impact on the company arising from recent
credit downgrades and adverse business conditions, its Board of Directors has
decided to pursue the sale of the company. After considering a number of
strategic alternatives, the Board of Directors established a Special Committee
to further assess the company's choices and concluded that pursuing a sale of
the company is in the best interests of the company's stakeholders.

The company also announced that John Kean, Jr. has stepped down as President and
Chief Executive Officer and as a director of the company to pursue other
opportunities. A. Mark Abramovic, the company's Chief Operating Officer and
Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed President of the company. Abramovic
stated, "The company has benefited from John's leadership and innovation. We
thank him for his years of dedicated service to the company and wish him well in
his future endeavors."

The company also announced that NUI Utilities, Inc. has entered into a letter of
intent with a lender to provide it with an additional $50 million unsecured
credit facility to fund its short-term needs. NUI is pursuing other alternatives
to provide NUI Utilities, Inc. with sufficient credit capacity to continue to
satisfy its short-term needs in the event the $50 million facility is not
obtained.

NUI also revised its earnings guidance for the fiscal year ending September 30,
2003 to $0.95 to $1.05 per share from $1.10 to $1.25 per share.

"I look forward to working to find the best strategic partner for NUI while
ensuring that the interests of our shareholders, employees, customers and other
stakeholders remain paramount," Abramovic said.

Berenson & Company is serving as a financial advisor to the company.

A live teleconference will be held today, September 26, 2003, at 10:30 a.m. EST.
The dial-in number for domestic investors is 1-800-360-9865 and 1-973-694-6836
for international callers. Participants should dial in five minutes prior to the
scheduled start time. A taped replay of the call will be available beginning at
12:00 p.m. EST and ending on October 3, 2003, at 11:59 p.m. EST. The dial-in
number for the replay is 1-800-428-6051 for domestic callers and 1-973-709-2089
for international callers. The pass code for the replay is 307979.

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A live webcast of the call will be available on the company's website at
www.nui.com. Choose "Investor Relations" and then select the webcast icon on the
Corporate Overview page. Shortly following the live call, a replay will be
archived on NUI's corporate website.

NUI Corporation, based in Bedminster, NJ, is a diversified energy company that
operates natural gas utilities, as well as businesses involved in natural gas
storage and pipeline activities and wholesale energy portfolio and risk
management. NUI Utilities' companies include Elizabethtown Gas Company in New
Jersey, City Gas Company of Florida and Elkton Gas Company in Maryland. Visit
our web site at www.nui.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements
related to the potential sale of NUI, an anticipated additional credit facility
for NUI Utilities, the pursuit of alternatives for the anticipated additional
credit facility, and fiscal 2003 earnings guidance. These statements are based
on management's current expectations and information currently available and are
believed to be 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, the company's ability to control
operating expenses; the volatility and level of natural gas prices; the ability
of the company to obtain a short-term credit facility for NUI Utilities; the
ability of the company to obtain an alternative to the short-term credit
facility in the event the short-term credit facility is not obtained; the
ability of the company to identify a buyer for the company and negotiate a
definitive agreement for the sale of the company; economic conditions; weather
fluctuations; those factors set forth in the company's Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and
its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to
forward-looking statements; and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult
to predict and some of which are beyond the company's control. For these
reasons, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements when making
investment decisions. The words "expect," "believe," "project," "anticipate,"
"intend," "should," "could," "will," and variations of such words and similar
expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The company
does not undertake any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking
statement, either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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