Energy transition
European regulators get to grips with Remit monitoring
By mid-2014, the Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency is expected to see European energy market participants reporting masses of information about their trading activity to regulators. How do regulators intend to use this data…
Head oil trader leaves Barclays
Shake-up at Barclays continues as George Cultraro, global head of crude oil and refined products, leaves the bank
Senior JP Morgan energy trader departs
London-based head of European gas and power trading said to leave for BTG Pactual
WTI rally offers limited upside to oil producers, say analysts
WTI rally may be short-lived, say analysts, while impact of backwardation is likely to be felt more strongly
Ferc targets power market gaming with JP Morgan fine
Record $410 million settlement demonstrates zero-tolerance approach towards exploitation of market design flaws
Physical flows will foster changes to energy benchmarks
Growth in WCS derivatives volumes highlights continuous evolution of the energy derivatives market
Noble Group swipes E.on and JP Morgan heads
Morgan Stanley commodity marketing head leaves; APX names new chief executive; Citi expands European power and gas sales; Clean Energy hires senior energy trader; Barclays names head of US power and gas trading
European power and gas liquidity hit by Mifid II fears
European energy traders say worries about the impact of Mifid II are chilling activity in longer-dated power and gas
Bribery laws pose compliance challenge for energy firms
Oil and gas firms still face compliance challenge from anti-bribery laws, despite court judgement against Dodd-Frank disclosure rules
Liquidity improves in Canadian heavy oil derivatives
Trading in derivatives linked to Western Canadian Select (WCS) heavy crude oil has jumped in the past few years, giving the country's producers improved opportunities to hedge. But the lack of a unified WCS price index has made it difficult for liquidity…
Uncertainty rules in Australian electricity derivatives market
Australia's electricity derivatives market had been picking up since the global financial crisis, but volumes have declined in recent years. Firms blame the slowdown on a combination of slim trading opportunities and uncertainty over plans to curb…
Ercot's Doggett on keeping the lights on in Texas
Despite worries about a shortfall in generation capacity, Trip Doggett, president and chief executive of Ercot, is proud that Texas has the liveliest deregulated power market in the US. He speaks to Alexander Osipovich
BP registers as swap dealer
BP registers its US-based energy trading subsidiary as a swap dealer, becoming the first oil and gas major to opt for dealer status under Dodd-Frank
Power proves a tough choice for Australian regulators
Supervisors must decide whether to include electricity in derivatives reform despite high prices and industry opposition
Energy should be exempt from benchmark rules, argues EC official
Benchmark indexes in energy markets are already well regulated and do not need further oversight, argues EC director-general for energy
US power hedging suffers from low prices
Low power prices have dented the need for electricity producers and consumers to hedge with derivatives, while regulatory reform is also making life difficult for market-makers. But market participants are optimistic the trend could be reversed. Pauline…
US power traders expect rebound in hedging activity
Power hedging activity could increase with rising prices and greater regional variation across the US
Energy Risk Canada: Rules on derivatives dealers need work, regulator says
Alberta securities regulator acknowledges proposals on derivatives dealer registration have alarmed energy firms
Futurisation dooms energy swap execution facilities
The US Dodd-Frank Act envisioned a new type of trading venue for over-the-counter derivatives, known as swap execution facilities (Sefs). But in the energy markets, at least, it appears Sefs are dead and traditional futures exchanges have emerged…
Canadian regulators respond to energy firms’ concerns on derivatives
Updated OTC derivatives rules satisfy concerns of energy traders, but inconsistencies with Dodd-Frank remain
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…
Turning points: Nico Van Wayenbergh, GDF Suez Trading
GDF Suez Trading is already used to coping with financial rules that are soon to be extended to many more European energy traders. Its chief risk officer, Nico Van Wayenbergh, speaks to Gillian Carr
Applied risk management series: Optimising commodity hedging programmes
The design and optimisation of a successful commodity hedging programme requires solid backtesting that meets the needs of different business functions. Using a recent case study, Carlos Blanco and Tamir Druz show how various tests can complement and…
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…