Energy transition
Natural gas house of the year: BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas saw an opportunity in natural gas amid the US shale boom and the withdrawal of other banks
Oil & products house of the year: Citi
The US bank has assisted oil producers and airlines whiplashed by crashing prices
Risk manager of the year (utility): GDF Suez Trading
Internal and external clients have benefited from the utility’s risk management skills
Risk manager of the year (sovereign): Mexico’s Ministry of Finance and Public Credit
Oil hedging stabilises Mexican state finances amid price crash
Derivatives house of the year: Citi
Bank wins with help of book purchases and willingness to take on trickier trades
Electricity house of the year: Citi
Bank continues to provide liquidity despite tough markets and extreme weather
Energy groups fight back on key Mifid II exemption
Energy industry groups are pushing for “sensibly higher thresholds” to prevent themselves from being subjected to financial rules under Mifid II
Bringing foresight to Brazil's wholesale power market
There’s an awful lot of water in Brazil. Or perhaps not. The beauty of the country’s natural geography is that it can produce about 80% of its total power through hydrogeneration and other renewables – but not always. Stefan Söderberg, senior hydrologist…
New CEO Mausbeck oversees shake-up at Danske Commodities
Dirk Mausbeck, the new chief executive of Danske Commodities, is striving to bring the Denmark-based trading house back into top form after a turbulent year
Citi acquires Texas power trading book from Barclays
US bank continues aggressive push into commodities by buying Barclays’ Texas power book, after similar purchases of trading books from Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse last year
Firms weigh benefits as EU power market coupling expands
Day-ahead power market coupling has been in operation across the North West Europe region for over a year. To what extent has it helped prices converge, and what are the next steps aimed at bringing Europe’s electricity markets closer together?
Energy scarcity warrants tough response to market abuse
Market manipulation is a problem that is controversial and tricky to define, but it must be taken seriously. That is particularly true in energy markets, where the optimal allocation of resources is more important than ever, argues industry veteran…
Asian emissions markets seen as step in right direction
Hopes that carbon emissions might one day emerge as the next major commodity market have been confounded by poor liquidity in Europe and the lack of a federal US cap-and-trade scheme. But developments in some Asian countries are giving traders more to…
Highlights from Energy Risk Summit USA 2015
Exclusive coverage of the flagship congress for senior energy risk managers and traders
US energy firms lament liquidity 'void' after bank exits
The retreat of banks from commodities has caused liquidity to dry up, making it much tougher to hedge, say participants at Energy Risk Summit USA
Flood of oil ETF investors reshaping market, analysts say
Investors stampeded into exchange-traded funds tied to crude oil futures in early 2015. Analysts say the huge inflows halted the plunge in oil prices, at least temporarily, and enabled significant producer hedging. But not everyone agrees
CFTC’s Massad woos energy firms with Dodd-Frank fixes
US Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman Timothy Massad stresses the agency will smooth out flaws in the agency's Dodd-Frank Act rules, but sidesteps a question over whether they were rushed
Applied risk management series: Counterparty risk exposure metrics
The use of static counterparty exposure metrics, which provide an incomplete view of the risk of individual deals and portfolios, may lead risk managers to take decisions with unintended consequences. Carlos Blanco outlines a better approach using…
Former enforcement chief takes top job at Ferc
BAML promotes Ahmad to co-head; Coolidge leaves Velite; Black joins Wells Fargo; StanChart loses sales head; Freepoint adds oil traders
Bulgaria power market faces challenges, conference told
Bulgaria's electricity market is being hampered by poor transparency, export fees and market structure, heard delegates at Energy Risk Balkans
Gazprom claims highlight stranglehold over European gas
An EC antitrust probe throws Gazprom's dominance in central and eastern Europe into sharp relief, but will do little to alleviate it
BNP Paribas's Flax calm about impact of regulation
Regulation is making life more difficult for bank commodity desks, but Catherine Flax, BNP Paribas's head of commodity derivatives for the Americas, is keeping a cool head
EU capital requirements worry commodity trading firms
The finalisation of Mifid II in Europe has rekindled a debate over whether commodity trading firms should be subject to capital requirements. Firms are lobbying strongly against the idea, but regulators and the European Commission will have the final say
US shale boom poses challenge to Henry Hub benchmark
Henry Hub, the US natural gas benchmark, is being called a "broken proxy" as the shale revolution boosts production in the northeast US. But potential alternatives, such as Pennsylvania's Dominion South, will find it difficult to seize Henry's crown