Gas Natural Inc. Furthering Market Penetration in Maine

MENTOR, Ohio, July 18, 2013

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.