The Board of Directors of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN), dba NW Natural, has declared a quarterly dividend of 44.5 cents a share on the company's common stock. The dividends will be paid Feb. 15, 2012, to shareholders of record on Jan. 31, 2012. The company's indicated annual dividend rate is $1.78 per share.

About NW Natural

NW Natural (NYSE:NWN) is headquartered in Portland, Ore., and provides safe, reliable, cost-effective natural gas service to about 672,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in western Oregon and southwestern Washington. It is the largest independent natural gas utility in the Pacific Northwest. The company has approximately $2.6 billion in total assets. Since 1989, the company has operated its 16 Bcf Mist underground storage field in Oregon to serve its utility customers and the regional interstate storage market. NW Natural and its subsidiaries currently own and operate underground gas storage facilities with designed storage capacity of approximately 31 Bcf in Oregon and California. Additional information is available at www.nwnatural.com.

NW Natural
Investor Contact:
Bob Hess, 503-220-2388
bob.hess@nwnatural.com
or
Media Contact:
Kim Heiting, 503-220-2366
kah@nwnatural.com