Articles by Risk Staff
The vendors’view
Energy software vendors are the first to admit they suffered financially fromthedownturn in the markets, but most stress they’ve developed innovative solutionsdespite the slump. Energy Risk put Salim Jabbour’s concerns to vendors
Finian O’Sullivan
If anyone knows how to keep an oil company showing healthy profit, it’s FINIANO’SULLIVAN , chief executive of Burren Energy. EithneTreanor meets him
Counterparty risk
Eduardo Canabarro, Evan Picoult and TomWilde present a new approach to derivativescounterparty credit risk that can affect utilities using a onefactor conditionalindependence framework, deriving a formula for theratio of ‘expected positive exposure’ to…
Broken promises
Asian countries are now a power in the world’s energy markets, but governmentinterference in tariff structures and shaky sovereign guarantees mean regulatoryrisks forinvestors remain. By Maria Kielmas
Slaying the dragon
In the first of a two-part series on hedging risk, NeilPalmer looks at the effectsof imperfect correlation on basis risk, and finds that unless you have a perfecthedge, you may just have to learn to live with risk
Buyer beware
Risk-management software development is still struggling to recover from slashed budgets after the Enron debacle. So before choosing a new system, buyers should look closely at five critical areas, writes Salim Jabbour
Contract killers
Hidden risks can lurk in unexpected areas – such as the contracting process. Brett Humphreys and Brett Friedman discuss how risk managers must look beyondsimple value-at-risk measures and find other potentially hidden exposures
Peaking patterns
Weather is increasingly affecting power market dynamics, with prices as variableas the temperatures. But the volatility has spawned a growing variety of methodsofmanaging peak load demand. By Catherine Lacoursiere
Standard challenges
Early signs suggest European energy companies may, like their US counterparts,have problems complying with a new derivatives-accounting standard. But theydo have newguidelines to help interpret the rules. By Joe Marsh
Tentative steps
Algeria’s state-owned oil company Sonatrach is about to become the first oil and gas company within Opec to roll out an independent risk management programme to cover its crude oil and gas sales. Stella Farrington reports
All bases covered
In 1997, Norwegian energy firm Statoil implemented an enterprise-wide risk management system with the help of Goldman Sachs. Eight years on, few energy companies can rival its approach. Joe Marsh discovers why
A solid foundation
MotherRock, the energy hedge fund set up by former Nymex president Bo Collins, recently chose Kiodex’s ASP-based risk management software. Joe Marsh explores the trade-off between web-based and installed systems
Both sides of the fence
Ernst Eberlein and Gerhard Stahl analyse price series of 25 energy spotrates simultaneously using Lévy models. This model class allows thecapture of stochastic behaviour of these financial instruments.Theimplications of this analysis will form the…
Germany’s closed shop
Despite six years of liberalisation, Germany’s gas market is still virtually closed to outside competition. Writing from Germany, Stella Farrington looks at whether new regulation is finally about to bring change
Turbulent times
The new Renewable Sources Act obliges German utility companies to buy all the wind power generated in the country on any one day. And it is adding a new volatility to the German power market. By Stella Farrington
Russell Newton
Global Advisors’ Russell Newton explains to Patrick Fletcher why his firm is moving away from its traditional oil-centric focus towards a more
Ethanol
The production of ethanol – a component of gasoline – is growing fast, which has led to the imminent launch of two ethanol futures contracts and a joint production venture involving Sempra Energy. By Joe Marsh
A complicated option
Why does the New York Mercantile Exchange not list average-price WTI crude options as a contract on its ClearPort electronic platform? Internal politics could be the main obstacle. Joe Marsh reports
Calgary’s oil patch
Some Canadian oil and gas producers got their fingers burnt last year as oil prices soared and hedging programmes resulted in big losses. What will their strategies be in 2005? Catherine Lacoursiere reports
A solid foundation
MotherRock, the energy hedge fund set up by former Nymex president Bo Collins, recently chose Kiodex’s ASP-based risk management software. Joe Marsh explores the trade-off between web-based and installed systems
A shift in perspective
As far as the electricity market is concerned, the EU emissions trading scheme is aimed only at the generation side of the market. But end users also affect carbon emissions levels. This could represent a missed opportunity. Here, Oliver Rix, Phil Grant…
Shopping for curves
More regulation requires more accurate valuation of forward trades – and a need for more reliability in the forward curve tool. Sandy Fielden presents an informal survey of the data choices available to energy risk managers in the US natural gas and…