IPSCO Invests In Environmental Upgrade At Regina

Regina, Saskatchewan, May 3, 2004 - IPSCO Inc. (NYSE/TSX: IPS) announced today it is investing approximately $14 million on a new baghouse at its Regina Steelworks. This significant capital investment is a positive demonstration of IPSCO's ongoing commitment to enhancing the operational and environmental performance of its Regina facilities.

The baghouse, a vacuum-like air emissions control structure, consists of several compartments with hundreds of fabric filters that collect small particles of dust emitted in the exhaust during the liquid steelmaking process. While the Regina operation currently has a fully functioning baghouse system, the dramatically improved technology of the new baghouse will better capture these fine sized materials and provide a cleaner working environment for employees.

"Through this upgrade, we will be better able to remove more dust from the air within our facilities - an important improvement for our workers," said IPSCO Saskatchewan Inc. President, Peter MacPhail. "It is important our employees can come to work in a manufacturing facility that is as good as we can make it."

IPSCO is committed to being an industry leader with respect to the environmental issues that affect it. All of its operating facilities have received ISO 14001 certification of their environmental management systems. MacPhail notes that IPSCO was the first company in North America to achieve this important certification at all locations.

"Manufacturing continues to operate in a very competitive, volatile and unpredictable environment and all issues which may affect the ability to remain viable on a long-term basis must be taken into account before capital expenditure is undertaken. Conditions in the steel industry in recent years have restricted the ability to be pro-active with new capital investment," said MacPhail. 

"IPSCO has also learned through its experience that it needs local support and appropriate manufacturing surroundings to succeed in a dynamic and globally competitive environment. Getting this balance right is a true win-win relationship for the Company, its employees, and its community. The Company appreciates the City's recent decision to create a 1000-meter industrial/commercial buffer between the manufacturing complex and the closest residential community to the south. IPSCO is committed to working with the community and all interest groups to realize the opportunities that our combined resources make available to us," concluded MacPhail.

IPSCO currently employs approximately 830 people in Regina and also supports and uses the services of more than 640 Regina companies. Using a formula based on profitability, IPSCO also supports numerous local cultural, sports and social initiatives in the communities in which it operates. The success of IPSCO's Regina operations has fueled growth and expansion into numerous other provinces and into the United States. The Company now operates 12 facilities across North America.

This news release contains forward-looking information with respect to IPSCO's operations and beliefs. Actual results may differ from these forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including, but not limited to, weather conditions affecting the oil patch; drilling rig availability; demand for oil and gas; supply, demand and price for scrap metal and other raw materials; supply, demand and price for electricity and natural gas; demand and prices for products produced by IPSCO; general economic conditions and changes in financial markets. These and other factors are outlined in IPSCO's regulatory filings with the Canadian securities regulators and the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those in IPSCO's Annual Report for 2003, its MD&A, particularly as discussed under the heading "Business Risks and Uncertainties," its Annual Information Form, and its Form 40-F.

Company Contact:
Kelly Brossart
Communications Officer 
Tel. 306-924-7475
Release 04-17
 
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