Essentials of Gas Trading and Risk

Practitioners from all over the world make this course a sell out course everytime it runs. Providing practical trading strategies combined with detailed risk analysis, this is the ultimate Gas Trading course.

Course Highlights

This intensive three-day programme will enable you to master:

European gas market & infrastructure fundamentals
Mechanisms of transit, transportation & UGS
Key aspects of gas trading & gas hubs in European context
Different parties and their roles
The tension between security of supply and trading
The new role of LNG imports in Europe
Trading risks and risk management in the European gas markets
The use & effectiveness of hedging

For details of the course trainer, please download the course brochure

Booking Information

Dates	Prices	Book This Course	Discount
22 - 24 Nov 2010	£ 2199		-
07 - 09 Feb 2011	£ 2199		-

Course Programme

DAY ONE

MARKETS AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Natural Gas

Terminology & units
Definitions
Gas quality

European Gas Market

Supply-Demand fundamentals & implications
Major players & their roles
Supply pipelines & sources
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) supply & sources
Liquidity & transparency

Country Cases – A brief look into:

UK
Germany
Czech Republic
Spain
Netherlands

Presentation and discussion of traded market status, trading activity & barriers to trade throughout

Infrastructure: Gas Pipelines – Definitions, Nominations and Balancing

Types & definitions
Shippers & balancing
Case: UK
Case: Italy

Infrastructure: Interconnectors & Cross-border issues

What & why
European interconnectors
The importance of IUK

Infrastructure: LNG Import terminals

What are they?
Existing, projects in construction and planned
Capacity & anti-hoarding

Trading Capacity: Primary Market

Tariffs
Entry – Exit
Access & availability
Auctions

Trading Capacity: Secondary Market

Capacity release
Electronic bulletin boards
Congestion and UIOLI

Infrastructure: Gas storage

Types
Necessity
Europe’s storage picture

Gas storage: Use for trading

Strategic and swing
Storage use for trading
How is it valued & traded

Group discussion of UK’s position on storage vs. other European countries

DAY TWO

PHYSICAL & FINANCIAL TRADING

EU Directives

Role of liberalisation
Regulators and regulation
Latest moves

Gas Pricing & Contracts – Long and Short-term

Contract basics
Pipeline gas supplies
LNG supplies
TOP, flexibility and other special terms

Why Trade & Role of Trading?

Why do organisations trade gas?
Trading functions & terminology
Trading tactics

Physical Gas trading

OTC vs. Exchange
Who trades
Trading indices
Spot vs. Forwards

European Gas Hubs

What & where
What makes a “good hub”
Assessment of European hubs & activity

Trading LNG

Terminal capacity
LNG commodity – LT versus “Spot”
Asia vs Atlantic
Cargo diversions, swaps and arbitrage

Group discussion of LNG in an Atlantic and a global trading market context; and LNG vs. piped gas & storage for Europe

Introducing Financial Trading

Gas market development
Forward curves
Exchange markets
Clearing

Fundamentals of Futures

Purpose & use
Terminology
Futures and forwards

“Options” in a nutshell

Terminology
Types & styles
Spreads & straddles
Sensitivities - The “Greeks”

Financial Swaps

What are they?
How are they used?
Sellers and buyers
Swaps market

DAY THREE

RISKS AND RISK MANAGEMENT

Arbitrage, multi-commodities & Spreads

Arbitrage
Gas & power spreads
Effects of “Green”
LNG import

Interactive session: Overview of trading risks

Risk and Exposure

Definitions and context
Risk profiles
Risk strategies

Examining Price Risks

Pricing drivers
Volatility, seasonality & liquidity
Forward curves

Credit and Counterparty Risks

How does it arise
Who are you trading with?
Credit risk valuation and mitigation
Credit risk management

Basis Risk

The basics of basis
Time & location
Basis differential
Basis and European hubs

Discussion of possibility of European single pricing point and what that could bring in terms of “basis differential” trading.

Measuring & Managing Risks

Mark to market
VAR (value at risk) and other methods
Measuring is not managing

Hedging

Terminology
Basic strategies
Some examples

Case Study: Hedging – Using futures to hedge

Current State of Gas Trading in Europe

Overview of volumes and liquidity
Consolidation of players
Market developments
What’s new