Market risk
Buyer beware
Risk-management software development is still struggling to recover from slashed budgets after the Enron debacle. So before choosing a new system, buyers should look closely at five critical areas, writes Salim Jabbour
Slaying the dragon
In the first of a two-part series on hedging risk, NeilPalmer looks at the effectsof imperfect correlation on basis risk, and finds that unless you have a perfecthedge, you may just have to learn to live with risk
Finian O’Sullivan
If anyone knows how to keep an oil company showing healthy profit, it’s FINIANO’SULLIVAN , chief executive of Burren Energy. EithneTreanor meets him
The vendors’view
Energy software vendors are the first to admit they suffered financially fromthedownturn in the markets, but most stress they’ve developed innovative solutionsdespite the slump. Energy Risk put Salim Jabbour’s concerns to vendors
The future of the floor
There have been many reports and studies comparing open-outcry and electronictrading and advocating one platform or the other.With the IPE putting all ofits eggs in the electronic basket last month, it is a great time to analyse thesituation and ask the…
RWE Trading reorganises coal, oil and freight ops
Alex Thistlethwayte has joined RWE Trading, part of German utility RWE, as head of a new department, Global Commodities Trading. He was previously director of oil trading at Deutsche Bank in London and has also traded natural gas at BP. The move is part…
CCRO data hub update to follow Energy Risk USA conference
The US-based Committee of Chief Risk Officers (CCRO) will give a presentation in Houston next Wednesday, May 11, on the energy data hub it is developing. The session will follow the last presentation of the Energy Risk USA 2005 conference and will take…
Expect oil at $150 in a decade, Soros colleague warns
Jim Rogers, co-founder with George Soros of the Quantum Fund, has predicted oil will be at $150 within the next 10 years.
All bases covered
In 1997, Norwegian energy firm Statoil implemented an enterprise-wide risk management system with the help of Goldman Sachs. Eight years on, few energy companies can rival its approach. Joe Marsh discovers why
Tentative steps
Algeria’s state-owned oil company Sonatrach is about to become the first oil and gas company within Opec to roll out an independent risk management programme to cover its crude oil and gas sales. Stella Farrington reports
Reuters launches order-routing system for commodities
Global information company Reuters has launched Reuters Order Routing for Commodities (RORC), a new trading solution for the European energy market.
CME weather trading volumes already past those of 2004
Weather derivatives trading volumes for 2005 on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have already surpassed last year's volumes, said the exchange yesterday. The number of contracts traded this year hit 124,177 on April 12, compared with 122,987 for the whole…
Icap-Hyde hires Toyne to head tanker FFA broking
Icap-Hyde, a London-based joint forward freight and shipping derivatives-broking venture between broker Icap and shipping broker JE Hyde, has added to its team. Simon Toyne has joined as director of tanker forward freight agreements (FFAs), responsible…
Battle for Brent rages on as open outcry closes at IPE
Open outcry at London’s IPE had its last day on Thursday, yet the debate over whether the screen can adequately replicate an oil market rages on, with IPE and Nymex both taking a punt on opposing beliefs.
Nord Pool hires ex-Natsource brokers, eyes power spread contract
Nordic power exchange Nord Pool has hired brokers from the Oslo office of energy broker Natsource, which would fit with rumours that Natsource is closing its Scandinavian business. Natsource president Jack Cogen declined to comment.
Nymex to launch gas oil futures in Dublin
The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) has said it will launch a northwest Europe gas oil futures contract in Dublin on Friday April 8.
Nymex launches gas oil futures in Dublin
The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) has said it will launch a northwest Europe gas oil futures contract in Dublin on Friday April 8.
Has Opec lost control?
Minutes after Opec tried to cool scorching oil prices by announcing a hike in its output target, oil surged to record highs. Has Opec lost control, and is there anything it can do to bring prices down? Stella Farrington finds out
An energetic debate
Enterprise-wide risk measurement and management, regulatory issues and pricing and hedging strategies were the hot topics this year at Energy Risk Europe in Amsterdam. James Ockenden and Joe Marsh report
The battle for Brent
Open-outcry the IPE is over, but the debate over whether the screen can adequately replicate an oil market rages on, writes Stella Farrington
Enter the scrum
A surprise Opec headline can throw the market into a tailspin, but gathering the news can be even more frenetic. In March, one scrum even resulted in broken bones. Stella Farrington writes from Iran
A star rises in the east
Iran’s ministry of petroleum has given the green light to launch a new petroleum exchange in the country. Mohammad Asemipour, adviser to Iran’s oil ministry and a key architect of the project, talks to Stella Farrington
Petroleum price surges
Oil prices once again are on the rise, with some analysts predicting ‘super-spikes’ in the near future to match the price rises of the 1970s. Eric Fishhaut summarises some of the key changes, and looks at how traders can make use of the volatility in the…
Real option valuation
Many non-financial assets can be viewed as ‘real options’ linked to an underlying variable such as a commodity price. Here, Thomas Dawson and Jennifer Considine show that the stock price of an electricity generating company is significantly correlated…