Natural Gas Distribution & Marketing Industry Profile

Companies in this industry operate natural gas distribution systems that serve customer locations, broker the sale of gas to distributors, and buy natural gas and directly distribute it to customers. Major companies include Sempra Energy and CenterPoint Energy (both based in the US); Gassco (Norway); GasTerra (Netherlands); Gazprom (Russia); Centrica (UK); and GDF SUEZ (France); as well as the natural gas distribution subsidiaries of US companies such as Dominion Resources and ONEOK.

Global exports of natural gas total more than 1 trillion cubic meters, including US exports of about 40 billion cubic meters, according to BP's 2012 Statistical Review of World Energy. Russia, Qatar, Norway, and Canada are among the world's largest natural gas exporters. Driven largely by demand from emerging markets, natural gas consumption is expected to increase by about 50 percent by 2035 (from 2008), according to the Energy Information Administration.

The US natural gas distribution and marketing industry includes about 450 companies with combined annual revenue of about $130 billion and is expected to grow at a high rate over the next two years. Key growth drivers include the increasing use of gas to produce electricity and the expansion of gas-related service offerings.

Natural gas producers are covered in the Oil & Gas Exploration & Production industry profile. This industry does not include companies primarily engaged in pipeline transportation of natural gas to distribution systems.