Market risk
Pioneers Oil: David Hufton
Today it's almost impossible to imagine an energy world without a mature, liquid oil market at its heart. Yet the development of the world's biggest commodity market was not a natural inevitability - it took the hard work and tenacity of a small and…
Options - A plan for all seasons
Selling natural gas options on a market that is adhering closely to a seasonal tendency can be a powerful strategy for an option seller, write James Cordier and Michael Gross
A look in the rear view
Utilities and regulators often disagree over the purpose of energy price risk management. Manitoba Hydro's recent experience with backtesting its hedging strategy is a case in point
Any fool can do it
Some quant techniques are easier than you might think. In the second part of his set of ten tips and tricks for aspiring energy quants, Neil Palmer shows why..
2005 in review
The energy markets were a dynamic place to be in 2005, with high volatility and an explosion of new players hitting the scene. Inevitably, though, it wasn't all smooth sailing. Energy Risk looks back over the highs and lows of 2005, from the launch of…
To build or not to build
Europe needs more power. But a lack of clear pricing signals and the unknown impact of new environmental legislation is making risk forecasting difficult, and could hinder new plant construction
Industrial users - Taming the flame
Industrial users of natural gas in North America are investing in physical hedges while gradually returning to the financial markets
Europe - An uncertain future
European natural gas demand is expected to rise in the next three decades. But, as Anouk Honore finds, the overall picture is not easy to predict, and depends on what happens in individual countries - particularly Italy and Spain
Prepay agreements - The ten-year pitch
Standard & Poor's recently passed the $1 billion mark in terms of natural gas prepayment deals it has rated since 2003. Joe Marsh looks at how these work and why municipal utilities might want to consider them
Coal turns a corner
Asian coal-trading is still proving a tough nut to crack. But the underlying market is developing, and a growing need for better risk management suggests it is only a matter of time before a paper market takes off
BarCap takes on Duke trading book
Barclays Capital will acquire and manage the bulk of Duke Energy North America’s (DENA) power and gas derivatives contracts, as part of parent Duke Energy Corp’s takeover of US utility Cinergy.
Weather fund Pyrenees closes, traders set up weather desk at Sempra
Weather hedge fund Pyrenees Capital Management closed at the end of October, a year after its launch, and two of the company’s three staff have moved to energy trader Sempra Commodities to set up a new weather desk.
Nice price for Ice as exchange floats
Atlanta-based energy-trading platform IntercontinentalExchange (Ice) hit the ground running as a public company today, pricing at $26 per share – at the top of its $24-$26 target range.
Utilities shift towards longer-term hedging
US and Canadian regulated utilities are increasingly looking to put on longer-term hedges, even more than three years out in some cases. Such was one of the findings of an informal survey of the audience at a utility risk-management conference in Chicago…
Powernext launches weather indexes
French electricity exchange Powernext – in partnership with Météo France (the French meteorological office) – today started offering national European temperature indexes.
Counting on coal
NRG Energy's move to buy Texas Genco seems a wise one for a company with strong dark-spread exposure, but it has its risks, despite the target company being backed by an active hedging programme. Joe Marsh reports