Energy transition
Rethinking European power
European energy firms are seeking to reposition their products and strategies in advance of European Union market deregulation. FAME Energy reports
Seam shifts in central Europe
Gordon Feller looks at the changing coal economies of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Slovenia and the effect of electricity sector moves in the region
Opportunity knocks for smelters
Aluminium manufacturers have long used sophisticated hedging and risk management techniques to protect against fluctuating metal prices, yet they have only recently looked at transferring these skills to power risk management. David Wilson reports
US energy prices: in line for a fall?
A combination of concerns in the second half of January 2003 has boosted US oil and natural gas prices to levels not seen since the winter of 2000/2001. Will the higher prices stick? Logical Information Machines examines cause and effect
US gas market challenges
A new report from the investigative office of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission finds that competitive natural gas markets in the US are robust, but warns of challenges ahead. Kevin Foster reports
Coal on the rocks
Faced with liquidity problems, falling volumes and uncertainty over the accuracy of price data, coal trading has had many of the same difficulties as the natural gas and power sectors over the past year. How can it get back on its feet, asks Kevin Foster
Exchanging blows
Conflict in the US and growth in Europe marked another turbulent year for energy exchanges. Kevin Foster casts an eye back over 2002
Rising fuel costs, diving profits
Airlines differ on how to manage jet fuel price ‘hyper-volatility’ as option prices point to more turbulence ahead. Catherine Lacoursière reports
In search of transparency
The open secret of index price manipulation in the natural gas sector is officially out, and the industry is scrambling to reform the system. Kevin Foster reports
Standardising electricity contracts
Electricity contracts have come and gone, but a new trio of financially settled futures contracts aims to widen the electricity market, reports James Ockenden
Between Kyoto and the caribou
Ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change is unlikely to have an effect on the burgeoning Canadian oil and gas sector, as Maria Kielmas discovers
Struggling for integration
Political issues are stalling Mexico’s energy sector reform just as the country is poised to become a major natural gas importer, reports Maria Kielmas
Quality data and solutions for a challenging market
FAME provides today’s uncertain energy market with transparent information and the tools to analyse it
El Paso helps RiskMetrics adapt
RiskMetrics Group, a company more often associated with the financial sector, is implementing its risk solution software at energy firm El Paso Corp. How is it adapting the software to the specifics of the energy sector? Kevin Foster reports