PORTLAND, OR--(Marketwire - Jan 8, 2013) - The Board of Directors of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE: [ NWN ]), dba NW Natural, has declared a quarterly dividend of 45.5 cents a share on the company's common stock.

The dividends will be paid Feb. 15, 2013, to shareholders of record on Jan. 31, 2013. The company's indicated annual dividend rate is $1.82 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 680,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers through 14,000 miles of mains and service lines in western Oregon and southwestern Washington. It is the largest independent natural gas utility in the Pacific Northwest. The company has approximately $2.7 billion in total assets. Together, NW Natural and its subsidiaries currently own and operate underground gas storage facilities with storage capacity of approximately 31 Bcf in Oregon and California. Additional information is available at [ www.nwnatural.com ].