Atmos Pipeline and Storage LLC history

1918: Amarillo Oil Company drills first natural gas well in the great Panhandle gas field.

In 1924, Southwestern Development Company acquired both Amarillo Oil and Amarillo Gas.

In 1944, Gerald Schlessman acquired the company and began expanding its operations by purchasing several smaller companies.

1954–80: Consolidation and Continued Expansion

Included in these was Trans State Tire Company, which Pioneer bought in 1969 and sold off a year and a half later.

Notably, after the energy crunch that started in 1971, Pioneer began bolstering its exploration operations, and over the next ten years, riding the oil boom, turned itself into a billion-dollar corporation.

In 1983, Energas, the natural gas distribution division of Pioneer, was spun off and became an independent, publicly held natural gas distribution company.

In October 1988, Energas changed its corporate name to Atmos Energy Corporation and its stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "ATO". Today, Atmos Energy employs approximately 4,800 people.

In 1993, it purchased the Greeley Gas Company, then privately owned by the Schlessman family.

In 1996, the year before its purchase by Atmos, United Cities had revenues of $353.4 million and reported a net income of $17.2 million.

Among other moves taken in 2000, Atmos sold the assets of a natural gas distribution system serving around 5,100 customers in the Gaffney, South Carolina, area to Piedmont Natural Gas.