CEDIGAZ was created in 1961 by representatives from European oil and gas companies, who recognized very early the importance of natural gas for the future. At that time, this was certainly a remarkable vision. Likewise, specific information on gas did not yet exist and was often buried in vast literature. It was thus important to create a structure for the gathering and exchange of information about natural gas. This information could come from the companies themselves and from the petroleum literature. From the beginning, one of essential features of the way CEDIGAZ operated was the pooling by its members of the greatest possible share of their potential with regard to action and information. This is what makes CEDIGAZ original and different from an organization providing services and which subscribers consult but do not animate.

CEDIGAZ quickly became international, receiving its present name in 1966, meaning “International Information Center for Natural Gas and Gaseous Hydrocarbons”, and in French "Centre International d'Information sur le Gaz naturel et tous Hydrocarbures Gazeux".

This internationalization of CEDIGAZ has been accompanied by a spectacular jump in the number of members in these forty years, growing from 26 members in 1961, 85 in 1970, 111 in 1980, 138 in 1990 and 140 today, in 44 countries. This international membership is a vital asset for CEDIGAZ, at a time when the gas economy is itself becoming more and more global.

Over the years, CEDIGAZ has widened its scope through the entire gas chain, with surveys covering the gas market players in Europe, LNG trade worldwide, underground gas storage, pipeline transport and gas use in power generation. Everything we know about the growth of natural gas as an energy source, as a feedstock for chemicals, and for the synthesis of engine fuels, makes us very confident of the future. Natural gas has an increasing role to play in the coming years, and this means that the services of CEDIGAZ will be enlisted more and more.