Operational risk
Oil majors go solo with emissions campaign
BP and ConocoPhillips will not renew their respective memberships of the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), announcing separate plans to engage policymakers as individual organisations.
Oil price of $70-80/bbl expected in 2010
Oil prices are expected to remain between $70 and $80 per barrel (bbl) this year, according to a consensus of industry experts speaking at the IP Week conference in London.
Iraq's capacity puts pressure on oil prices
The recovery of Iraq’s oil industry is putting downward pressure on global oil prices as the ability of the world market to absorb the extra capacity might be limited, say oil experts.
JP Morgan and RBS Sempra Commodities agree $1.7bn deal
RBS Sempra Commodities has sold its global oil, global metals, and European power and gas assets to JP Morgan for $1.7 billion.
China seen overtaking US as biggest oil importer in 2-3 years
“In two to three years, China will be the largest global importer of crude oil,” Jorge Montepeque, global director of market reports for Platts, said at today’s Global Outlook for Oil event during IP Week.
China forces IEA to boost oil demand forecast
Higher-than-expected demand from China and other Asian countries has forced the International Energy Agency (IEA) to revise up its global oil demand forecast for 2010 by 120,000 barrels a day (b/d) to 86.5 million b/d.
Iraq adopts new pricing for US crude
Somo, the Iraqi state-owned oil marketing firm, has followed in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait by adopting the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI) to benchmark price sales of US-bound crude from April onwards.
Citi names new global commodities head
Stuart Staley has taken over as Citigroup’s global head of commodities, as the bank aims to boost the business by 30-40% over the next three years.
Gazprom sells US LNG to China
Russian energy company Gazprom has shipped 1 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China, as the US gas market has an unfavourable pricing environment, says Alexander Medvedev, deputy chairman of Gazprom’s management committee and director…
CFTC to open risk management office
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will use funding under the Obama Administration’s new budget to create two offices focusing on risk management.
Markets shaken by emissions trading certificate hackers
Market participants are worried they could be holding fraudulent European Union carbon allowances (EUA), after computer hackers launched an alleged phishing attack on the German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt).
Energy structured deals: dynamic vs quasi-static hedging
Traditional pricing and hedging approaches often fail to work properly for complex energy structures due to market incompleteness, liquidity problems or unusual price dynamics. In this article, Stefano Fiorenzani suggests some specific adjustments that…
Best practices in compliance
With regulators’ power set to increase and individual executives increasingly likely to be prosecuted when there is a compliance breach, it is crucial that the compliance function is properly structured. In part two of their series, Michael Berry and…
Smart grid: Diverging demands
Rachel Morison concludes her two-part series by looking at the impact of smart grids on supply and demand fundamentals and possible changes to the traded markets
Will Russia leave Europe out in the cold?
After numerous disputes with its neighbours, Russia is looking beyond Europe for more reliable gas consumers. But with worldwide production on the up, Europe also has other options. Lianna Brinded asks whether Russia can afford to turn its back on the…
Dry freight and regulation: Tides of change
The dry freight FFA market has undergone significant changes in the past two years, with a marked increase in clearing and financial players. Participants are now looking at how potentially tighter OTC regulation may impact trading. By Pauline McCallion
Interview: Mexico's hedging plans: in crude health
Pauline McCallion speaks to Gerardo Rodriguez, deputy undersecretary for public debt at Mexico’s Ministry of Finance & Public Credit, about the government’s highly successful oil price hedging strategy
Pass the microphone: Humphreys to Strickland
In this new column, an industry professional interviews a market expert of their choice. Next month the interviewee becomes the interviewer and chooses who to interview. The series is kicked off by Brett Humphreys putting his questions to Lacima Group’s…
