Infrastructure
LNG drive gears up
The global push for LNG has reached a new level – particularly in the US. Big players had projects rubber-stamped or proposed further terminals, and the inaugural LNG summit took place. Joe Marsh reports
Nuclear stockpile
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has come under fire for not adequately monitoring the decommissioning funds of nuclear power plants. But the NRC says the criticism is unwarranted. By Paul Lyon
Flexible bonds
A depressed power market means major firms face an uphill struggle to refinancetheir debt. But a commodity hedge has given US energy giant Calpine Corp considerableflexibility in its $800 million bond issue. By James Ockenden
Creative challenges in customer-driven risk management
Shell Trading’s Ken Gustafson and Jemmina Gualy shed light on the environment in North America for customers and dealers in risk management, and look at the opportunities ahead for the business
Weathering the problems
Weather derivatives can reduce or eliminate the potential economic disastersthat extreme weather can provoke. Ross McIntyre of Deutsche Bank examines thevarious ways in which weather can affect key industries and reviews the benefitsof weather derivatives
A dark futurefor clearing
Clearing was the energy buzz word of early 2003. But as Clearing Bank Hannover goes into liquidation and the future of EnergyClear’s business remains uncertain, it seems energy clearing has lost its appeal. By Paul Lyon
Goldman Sachs buys 3,300MW of power generation capacity
Godman Sachs has agreed to buy US power producer Cogentrix, in a deal that willmore than quadruple the bank’s generation capacity. JoeMarsh reports
Standing out from the crowd
Credit risk management groups can differentiate themselves from their competitors through their different capabilities. Randy Baker and Brett Humphreys explain how
Trying to model reality
Quantitative credit risk models are a must-have in today’s energy industry. But human judgement is still needed, as Maria Kielmas discovers
Bearing the brunt
Building contractor bankruptcies of have recently stressed the credit profiles of several power projects in the US. Standard & Poor’s Scott Taylor and Tobias Hsieh look at how sponsors and lenders responded and the effects on the various parties
Option pricing for power prices with spikes
European power prices are very volatile and subject to spikes, particularly in German and Dutch markets. Ronald Huisman and Cyriel de Jong examine the impact of spikes on option prices by comparing prices from a standard mean-reverting model and a regime…
Capturing value from energy supply and trading
Companies that plan to engage in energy trading need to invest in the right personnel, processes and information management tools if they intend to be successful, says David Dunkin, SolArc’s Chief Strategic Executive
Who is left to manage risk?
The exodus of energy trading companies from the market has created a gap in managing risk. David Johnson and Ross Warriner of Protiviti report
The Power Sector Model
David Soronow, Mike Pierce and King Wang, of Financial Engineering Associates, introduce the firm’s Power Sector Model as the next step in derivatives pricing
New Energy Associates, a Siemens Company, presents the future of ETRM
As generation, trading and retailing companies come out from under the dark cloud to prepare for what looks to be a brighter future, one issue has become critical – the need to upgrade outdated ETRM systems with 21st century architecture, portfolio…
Making sense of the new power market
Bank of America’s Rogers Herndon and David Mooney examine expectations in the energy and power markets before and after the collapse of Enron and outline their predictions for the future
Trading natural gas futures with weatherfutures at the CME
Craig Jimenez and Mirant’s Vishu Kulkarni discuss how the burgeoning relationship between the natural gas futures market and the weather futures market is providing opportunities for traders, hedgers and speculators alike
Quality data and solutions for a challenging market
FAME provides today’s uncertain energy market with transparent information and the tools to analyse it
Tools for the trade
Ken Nichols examines the mechanisms available for incorporating credit risk management into an energy company’s portfolio
Avoiding over-exposure
Eurof Thomas finds the European energy market is increasing its focus on credit risk mitigation in the wake of Enron’s demise