ABSTRACT
In many respects the industries which supply natural gas to homes and businesses in Western Europe today are a mirror of the political and commercial life of the continent. There are several national industries, not one European industry, with distinct forms of organization and culture. Massive technical and commercial changes have been involved, and yet the legal and organizational structure in both countries, although very different from each other, has remained virtually unchanged throughout the period of introducing natural gas. In the ownership and corporate structure of Ruhrgas, the largest German gas company, there are strong residual elements from the days of manufactured gas. There are seven smaller national natural gas industries in Europe. Finland uses only imported Soviet gas. Austria, Switzerland and Denmark are all connected to the German grid. Spain and the Republic of Ireland both use natural gas as well as naphtha-based manufactured gas.
