Feature
Blowing hot and cold
Across Europe, government enthusiasm and support for wind energy will dictate the ability for wind project sponsors to refinance project loans via the bond market. Jan Willem Plantagie of Standard & Poor’s explains
Weatherproofing the VAR
The weather derivatives market shares some similarities with other markets, but applying existing models can sometimes have disastrous results. Brett Humphreys and Eric Raleigh discuss how weather derivatives differ from financial derivatives and how we…
Growing up fast
Weather trading is seeing strong volume growth in the US, largely due to the influx of hedge funds into the market. Why such a big increase in interest, and what sort of strategies are the funds adopting? By Joe Marsh
Pipelines and politics
The latest in a long line of disputes over natural gas supplies from Russia is raising concern among utility customers and investors that future supplies to the West may be disrupted. But is this a long-term problem? Oliver Holtaway reports
The energy equation
Quantitative analysis in the energy industry is undergoing a crucial transition as it moves out of the role of secondary support to sit at the heart of business decision-making. Stella Farrington looks at its advance
Delivering the goods
There’s huge scope for growth in the freight derivatives market, but to attract more players, existing participants need to adopt more innovative and sophisticated trading practices, participants say. Stella Farrington reports
In pole position
Sakonnet’s Thurstan Bannister says a sound footing in risk management and a customer-facing approach is the secret of his company’s success. By Stella Farrington
Keep it simple, stupid
Do you prefer sophistication or simplicity? Neil Palmer takes a look at optimisation methods in energy modelling and asks if energy quants aren’t sometimes being a little too heavy-handed
Storage strategies
Companies are increasingly realising they can use natural gas storage to add value to their bottom line. TransCanada’s Farzan Nathoo weighs up the strategies available for optimising value through storage
Struggling for growth
All three Canadian energy exchanges – NGX, Watt-Ex and NetThruPut – are finding it slow-going with their expansion plans. Meanwhile the rivalry between NGX and Watt-Ex is growing. Joe Marsh reports
The technology trap
Large banks are increasingly looking to energy trading to improve liquidity and develop relationships with large institutional and industrial clients. James Kemp looks at some of the technological challenges they face
Checking outside the box
Companies often use checklists to evaluate their IT buying requirements. But these rarely address what the firm actually needs. Brett Humphreys discusses how over-reliance on checklists may lead to poor software buying decisions
Making a connection
Addressing both sophisticated multi-asset trading and physical asset optimisation – while complying with stringent new regulation – are challenges few software firms claim to have the entire solution to. Oliver Holtaway reports
A growing concern
Despite high natural gas prices, Canadian fertiliser maker Agrium has been posting strong profits, while some rivals have struggled. The company’s risk-management strategy has been a significant factor in its success. By Joe Marsh
A good time to build
US utilities may need to spend more than $100 billion in the next 25 years on new power plants and transmission capacity. Richard McMahon looks at how utilities are assessing long-term risks and attracting potential investors
Trusts gain traction
Canadian oil and gas companies are rushing to convert to royalty trusts, despite the stigma some attach to them. This is good news for the energy-hedging market, but some still have reservations about the trust sector. By Joe Marsh
Emissions education
As the European carbon market continues to grow, so too do some unique challenges: not least the gap between retail and wholesale players and the problem of counterparty credit risk. Oliver Holtaway reports
The best of all worlds
Thanks to their varying scale, structure and diversity, European organisations often have very different solutions to risk management. But which system is the most effective? In an exclusive to Energy Risk, the European Energy Risk Forum offers a route…
A calculated gamble
After a promising start, Canadian carbon trading has slowed. The country has much work to do if it wants to get a domestic greenhouse-gas trading market running ahead of the 2008 Kyoto deadline. By Catherine Lacoursiere
Training the tiger
Derivatives are finally beginning to gain wider acceptance in Taiwan, but senior executives remain wary, associating them with the collapse of Barings and, more recently, China Aviation Oil’s huge trading losses, finds David Hayes
Just a seasonal swing?
US natural gas market volatility is keeping trading volume high. But is this just a seasonal phenomenon or part of a long-term trend? Catherine Lacoursiere reports
Getting it together
The US Committee of Chief Risk Officers is proposing an energy data hub to improve price transparency in the natural gas market, but index publisher Platts is concerned over some aspects of the initiative. Joe Marsh reports
Staying one step ahead
Picking the right investment opportunities will never be a precise science, but a combination of global forecasting and risk management has enabled US Global Investors to become one of the most successful US mutual funds in the energy space. Its chief…
Shell:powering up
Shell Trading’s core values of honesty, integrity and respect for people define thecompany and how it does business