Natural gas

68.2

18,700

31,451

Electrical energy produced (GWh/year)

5%

109,759

115,295

Gas distribution network (Kilometres)

3.4%

11,115,000

11,492,000

Number of gas distribution clients

292,730

292,629

Total

13.5%

47,061

53,539

International

-2.6%

245,566

239,090

Spain

(GWh)

Gas supply

6.2%

453,172

481,414

Total

4.8%

2,800

2,933

Italy

16.2%

179,314

208,408

Latin america

-0.4%

271,058

270,073

Spain

distribution (GWh)

Gas

Variance (%)

2007

2008

Key data

The Gas Natural Group today is the result of a process of reorganisation and restructuring of the gas sector in Spain. The merger of Catalana de Gas and Gas Madrid took place in 1991, two companies with more than 160 years of history, to which was added Repsol's gas distribution pipeline assets. This merger produced Gas Natural SDG, S.A., the Group's parent company.

A number of companies with gas related businesses and other support companies complete this major energy services group.

The Group is also a majority shareholder in Metragas and EMPL, companies which operate and maintain the Moroccan section of the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline, connecting the Hassi R'Mel gas fields in Algeria to the Iberian Peninsula.

In addition to these upstream and midstream businesses and the purchase of assets in Mexico, other important international operations carried out in recent years include entry into Puerto Rico (USA), where the company has managed a regasification plant and a combined cycle generating plant since 2003; and the start of activities in Italy, where it has sold and distributed gas since 2002, and in France, where it began selling gas in 2005.

The company's most recent international expansion took place in Mexico in 2007, with the biggest acquisition of assets in the company's history. Gas Natural became Mexico's second largest private electricity generation operator with the purchase of 2,233 MW combined cycle generating capacity from EDF and Mitsubishi. This acquisition positions Gas Natural as the country's only operator of both gas and electricity.

In 2005 the company reached an agreement with Repsol YPF to jointly develop their liquid natural gas businesses, with the creation of an LNG transportation company, , which has become the third largest in the world by volume of gas transported and the biggest in the Atlantic basin. It is the fifth largest fleet operator.

The group entered the natural gas production business in 2004, with the objective of establishing a presence throughout the entire value chain. It is currently developing various projects in Algeria, Nigeria and Angola, which include gas exploration and production as well as liquefaction and transportation.

The Group's growth beyond the Spanish borders, which began in 1992, has enabled it to broaden and extend the scope of its activities, making it possible to generate economies of scale and strengthening its position as a multi-national company. Gas Natural today is the biggest distributor of natural gas in Latin America, where it has almost half of its customers, spread across Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.

The Group's generating portfolio currently stands at 6,474 MW of installed potential. It presently operates 3,600 MW of combined cycle potential in Spain, 2,223 MW in Mexico and 540 MW in Puerto Rico, as well as 737,2 MW of potential under the "special regime" (wind energy and co-generation) in Spain. The company also has a 400 MW combined cycle plant under construction in Malaga, another of 800 MW in the Port of Barcelona, and a further 800 MW project in the planning stage in Lantar

Gas Natural is an energy multi-national, leader in the gas sector in Spain and Latin America\