Alternative fuels
Hedging advisory firm of the year: Mercatus Energy Advisors
Boutique sets up offices in Asia and Europe and expands into LNG and coal
An encouraging shift in Asian LNG
Changes brewing in Asia are a reminder that trading can be a social good
Maximising refinery profits using portfolio optimisation
Petroleum refining is a complicated, multi-dimensional task that involves many tricky operating decisions. In this article, Carlos Blanco and Christopher Mammarelli explain how a portfolio-based optimisation framework can maximise the profitability of a…
US propane retailer hedges to offer customers stable prices
Keeping Michigan residents warm for a reasonable price is the central mission of Grand Rapids-based propane and fuels retailer Crystal Flash. But it couldn't be done without hedging and prudent risk management
Italian refiner seeks boost from supply and trading unit
Italy’s Saras is taking advantage of a well-supplied crude market and the flexibility of its Sardinia refinery to seek out trading opportunities, but challenges loom in the form of onerous financial regulations and the structural difficulties of Europe’s…
Dealing with stressed contracts in the energy sector
The recent collapse of crude oil prices is inevitably putting many contracts in the energy sector under strain. Ashley Wright and Richard Steenhof of Norton Rose Fulbright explore the legal options available to energy companies that need to manage the…
Biofuels go global
With global output at an all-time high, and increasing demand for clean and secure energy, biofuels have become integral to international energy markets. SCB & Associates explains how it offers customers the market insight and product knowledge to trade…
Official support fails to help Japan LNG contract
The launch of a new forward contract linked to liquefied natural gas (LNG) had been welcomed by the Japanese government amid hopes it might help local buyers manage their risk. But the contract has failed to take off - a sign of the challenges involved…
Enthusiasm for hedging wanes among US airlines
Airline fuel hedging was once a thriving business for bank commodity desks. But now major US carriers are showing less appetite for hedging, while non-bank dealers such as BP and Shell are also muscling in on the airline fuel hedging business. Alexander…
US airline wins Dodd-Frank real-time reporting delay
CFTC no-action letter giving Southwest Airlines and its dealers extra time to report hedging trades in long-dated oil may lead to broader relief for other hedgers in illiquid markets
US airlines hesitate on fuel hedges despite price drop
Fuel hedging from airlines and other consumers is picking up in the wake of a drop in oil prices, but some firms remain too concerned about the prospect of a further fall
Energy Risk Asia Oil & Products House of the Year: JP Morgan
Despite the sale of its physical commodities business, JP Morgan continues to offer liquidity in a broad range of crudes and refined products in Asia
Cosgrove moves into ethanol trading after GFI
After a three-decade career in energy brokerage, Michael Cosgrove has reinvented himself as an ethanol trader. Alexander Osipovich finds out why
Tradition’s Pinchin looks back on successes and failures
David Pinchin, co-founder of Tradition Financial Services, speaks to Stella Farrington about his 30-year career in derivatives markets and how it informs his more recent work with disadvantaged youths
Fuel hedgers bemoan bank retrenchment from commodities
Delta Air Lines and World Fuel Services describe impact of Wall Street retreat from commodity markets at Energy Risk Summit USA
American Airlines to stop fuel hedging after merger
US Airways policy of not hedging jet fuel will now extend to American Airlines, says chief executive
Sovereign hedging picks up as developing countries end fuel subsidies
A push to eliminate fuel subsidies across much of Africa, the Middle East and Asia is raising interest in the use of commodity hedging by governments as a way of containing social unrest. But it remains a challenge to get sovereign commodity hedging…
Sovereigns look to hedge fuel imports after Morocco deal
More energy importing countries are in talks about hedging fuel purchases after Morocco’s sovereign hedging deal, say bankers
Asia Corporate Energy Risk Manager of the Year: Etihad Airways
A conservative yet flexible jet fuel hedging programme has proven successful for Etihad
PRAs under attack amid market manipulation investigations
Price reporting agencies (PRAs) are facing intense scrutiny from regulators, amid renewed allegations that their widely used price indexes are being manipulated by unscrupulous energy traders. Will the PRAs be forced to change their ways? Alexander…
Uneconomic trading, market manipulation and baseball
Regulators, including the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, are aggressively targeting uneconomic trading in a crackdown on potential market manipulation. Such moves have striking parallels in the history of baseball - some of which might prove…
