Gas Natural Inc. Furthering Market Penetration in Maine

MENTOR, Ohio, July 18, 2013 PRNewswire/ -- Gas Natural Inc. (NYSE MKT: EGAS) (the "Company"), a holding company operating local natural gas distribution operations serving approximately 73,000 customers in seven states, disclosed its continued growth and strategic opportunities in Maine.  The Company executed on several initiatives during the prior quarter to expand its customer base and capture greater market share in Maine.   Additionally, the overall market acceptance of natural gas as a clean alternative to oil for industrial processes and home heating has increased in the region.

The Company, through its subsidiary Bangor Gas Company, LLC, executed a multi-year agreement with Global Partners LP (NYSE: GLP), through its subsidiary Global CNG LLC, to provide a firm supply of natural gas to Global Partner's compressed natural gas ("CNG") loading station.  The station, which is being built in Bangor, Maine, establishes a solution for distributing natural gas to a broader potential customer base in areas that would be very difficult and costly to pipe due to the challenging geology and geography.  After the first contract year, Global Partners has committed to 300,000 decatherms of service per year, equating to nearly $500,000 of incremental revenue for at least five years, with opportunities for additional volumes and an extended contract life.  

Additionally, the Company started the conversion of a 60-mile section of the Loring Pipeline north of Bangor to transport natural gas.  In conjunction with the pipeline conversion, it has gained Lincoln Paper and Tissue as its anchor customer in June 2013.  The pipeline also provides the Company's Maine utility with access to additional residential customers.

"Our agreement with Global Partners provides us a large volume customer that can cost effectively further the use of natural gas within the State of Maine with the application of state-of-the-art compression and distribution technologies in areas where traditional pipeline distribution can be cost prohibitive," said Richard M. Osborne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gas Natural Inc. "We have also made great progress in converting the liquid pipeline we acquired in 2012 into a natural gas pipeline, avoiding the significant expense of laying new pipe.  This will add 60-miles of main to our system and enabled us to gain a major industrial customer.  Through our expanded system, we can help more Lincoln, Maine commercial, industrial and residential customers realize the cost benefits of clean, energy efficient natural gas."

Gas Natural's position as one of the region's leading natural gas distribution companies and its ability to invest directly and via partnerships allows customers, who are presently using higher cost oil-based fuels, to have a more cost effective and cleaner natural gas option.  On September 25, 2012, the Company acquired, through its subsidiary Penobscot Natural Gas Company, Inc., a leasehold interest in a 189-mile pipeline corridor easement running from Searsport to Limestone, Maine ("Loring Pipeline") and various parcels of land for a total consideration of $4.5 million which was comprised of $2.25 million in cash and 210,951 shares of the Company's common stock valued at a price of $10.67.

The Company expects to start supplying natural gas to Global Partners' CNG facility when it becomes operational in August 2013.

About Gas Natural Inc.
Gas Natural Inc., a holding company, distributes and sells natural gas to end-use residential, commercial, and industrial customers.  It distributes approximately 33 billion cubic feet of natural gas to approximately 69,000 customers through regulated utilities operating in Montana, Wyoming, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maine, North Carolina and Kentucky.  The Company's other operations include interstate pipeline, natural gas production, natural gas marketing and propane to 4,000 customers.  The Company's Montana public utility was originally incorporated in 1909.  Its strategy for growth is to expand throughput in the Maine and North Carolina markets while looking for acquisitions that are either adjacent to its existing utilities or in under saturated markets.

The Company's toll-free number is 800-570-5688. Gas Natural Inc. regularly posts information on its website at www.egas.net.

Safe Harbor Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The Company is including the following cautionary statement in this release to make applicable and to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, Gas Natural Inc. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, those that are identified by the use of the words "anticipates," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes" and similar expressions. Such statements are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed. Factors that may affect forward-looking statements and the Company's business generally include but are not limited to the Company's ability to successfully integrate the operations of the companies it has recently acquired and consummate additional acquisitions, the Company's continued ability to make dividend payments, the Company's ability to implement its business plan, fluctuating energy commodity prices, the possibility that regulators may not permit the Company to pass through all of its increased costs to its customers, changes in the utility regulatory environment, wholesale and retail competition, the Company's ability to satisfy its debt obligations, including compliance with financial covenants, weather conditions, litigation risks, and various other matters, many of which are beyond the Company's control, the risk factors and cautionary statements made in the Company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other factors that the Company is currently unable to identify or quantify, but may exist in the future. Gas Natural Inc. expressly undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Gas Natural Inc.'s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

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SOURCE Gas Natural Inc.