Gas Natural SDG S.A. - Introduction

Introduction

Avda Portal de l'Angel 22
Barcelona
E-08002
Spain
Telephone: +34 902 199 199
Fax: +34 93 402 58 70
Web site: http://www.gasnatural.com

Public Company
Incorporated: 1992
Employees: 6,150
Sales: EUR 5.63 billion ($7.35 billion) (2003)
Stock Exchanges: Bolsa de Madrid
Ticker Symbol: GAS
NAIC: 221210 Natural Gas Distribution; 221122 Electric Power Distribution; 238210 Electrical Contractors; 532310 General Rental Centers

Spain's Gas Natural SDG S.A. is one of the three largest natural gas companies in Europe, and the largest in South America. The former state-owned natural gas monopoly remains a leader at home—with more than 72 percent of Spain's natural gas market—although legislation has forced the company to begin reducing its market share to 60 percent before the end of the 2000s. Yet that same legislation, which liberalized Spain's utility market, has provided Gas Natural with the opportunity to expand into new areas of business, including electrical generation. The company expects to have more than 6,000 MW of power generation capacity online by 2008. Gas Natural is the leading supplier of natural gas to the Latin American market, with operations focused on Argentina, Colombia, and Brazil, as well as to Mexico and Puerto Rico. Since the beginning of the 2000s, Gas Natural has begun an expansion into the European market as well, with Italy as its first target market. In December 2004, the company reached an agreement to purchase 35 percent of Greece's state-owned gas company, Depa. The company also joined with its major shareholder Repsol-YPF in acquiring the construction and operation contract for Algeria's Gassi Touil integrated gas production and pipeline project, strengthening Gas Natural's supply base. Gas Natural also has invested in alternative energy sources, including buying some 50 percent of five wind farms in Spain at the beginning of 2005. In addition to its gas production and distribution operations, Gas Natural operates a fleet of ten methane tankers, making it one of the world's leading transporters of natural gas. Gas Natural is listed on the Bolsa de Madrid and produces revenues of more than EUR 5.6 billion ($7.3 billion) per year.