Course Summary

Power and gas trading in the European markets is a dynamic and evolving business that offers both unprecedented opportunities and significant risks. This intensive course gives insights into the European markets and interaction of physical and financial energy trading, together with issues of power and gas capacity and LNG trading, and introduces the associated effects of emissions trading. It is now commonplace to trade multiple energies and this five-day comprehensive course provides delegates with essential understanding of trading power and natural gas and associated commodities cross-border and internationally, as well as offering a practical view of the day-to-day activities and problems. It provides valuable insights from industry players with ample chance to clarify issues in an informal workshop style environment. Lecture content is reinforced with interactive syndicate work and with a dynamic screen-based practical trading exercise using the APX Market platform. After completing the course, delegates will have gained essential knowledge and an in-depth appreciation of the activities and issues of trading in the power and gas markets as well as an understanding of the principles, drivers and tools available.

Who Should Attend?

A key learning benefit is the opportunity to interact with delegates from other backgrounds who are new to gas and power trading, others in support roles working in the middle or back office, as well as those transferring from other industry activities. This course will be of significant interest to:

• Organisations dealing with traded markets in the electricity and gas industry, including supply and trade groups of integrated energy companies
• Transitional traders from other commodities or financial products
• Existing middle and back office staff
• Energy related government staff and regulators
• Company buyers in large industrial players
• Interested parties from energy markets in EU, accession countries, CEE, SEE, Middle East, SE Asia, Japan, Southern Africa etc.
• Power and Gas infrastructure operators
• Balance market operators
• Emerging market and new entrant players
• Power and gas companies in transition

Course Contents

Context

• Global
• European supply/demand
• European markets for power and gas
• Pricing drivers
• Country studies

Trading 1

• Terminology
• Why trade?
• Liquidity
• Price transparency
• Trading, shipping and scheduling

Trading 2

• Central markets
• Gas hubs
• Exchanges
• Clearing
• Traded products

Trading 3

• Gas and Power commodities
• Capacity trading
• Secondary market and trading
• Nominations and balancing

Trading 4

• Carbon market effects
• Portfolio management
• Forward curves and behaviour
• Arbitrage, swaps and spreads
• LNG trading

Trading 5

• Risks in trading
• Price and basis risk
• Credit and counterparty risk
• Measuring and managing risk
• Value at Risk

Trading 6

• Financial trading
• Futures: pricing and characteristics
• Clearing house functions
• Options: pricing and characteristics
• Options: strategies and sensitivites
• Option valuation
• Financial swaps
• Structured products
• Hedging

Trading 7

• Trading gas storage
• Issues with renewables and distributed energy
• Technical analysis overview
• Weather derivatives