National Fuel Gas Company is an energy holding company that operates as both a gas utility and a producer and transporter of oil and gas. Its utilities segment serves 725,000 customers in New York and Pennsylvania, while its transportation segment moved 356 Bcfe of petroleum in 2007. Both industries are subject to government regulation, and rates are kept low to enable accessibility for customers while guaranteeing profits for the company. NFG must lobby for rate increases if input costs rise, a process which is long and costly, making the company prone to losing potential profits and creating a lag when input costs rise that squeezes margins. Furthermore, both businesses are prone to seasonality in their revenues, as demand for gas is higher in the colder months of winter.

To supplement the low, steady margins associated with transportation and distribution, National Fuel Gas Co operates an upstream oil and gas exploration and production company through its subsidiary, Seneca. Seneca has reserves in California, on the Gulf Coast, and in the Appalachians. The company is betting on its Appalachian holdings to deliver much of its future growth, despite the relative mystery surrounding the productivity of the region. This is because Californian reserves are beginning to mature, while Gulf coast reserves are prone to slowdowns that come with the hurricane season. With over a million acres in the Appalachians, 800,000 of which are part of the Devonian Shale, the company's growth prospects are rich. Natural Fuel Gas Co doesn't have any real utilities competition thanks to the high cost of infrastructure installation, but the company competes with other pipeline companies like Enbridge and Kinder Morgan, as well as oil and gas producers like Chesapeake Energy and Devon Energy.

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