17 Sep 2019
Gas trading on emsTradepoint remained near record levels in August as buyers sought to secure supplies right through to March next year.
The market provider emsTradepoint, which is a subsidiary of Transpower, reported that 1.39 PJ was traded last month, down 6.7% on July’s record high 1.49 PJ but well above trading for the same month a year ago (up 350% on August 2018).
The strong forward curve established by transactions in July continued in August, with buyers looking to lock in supplies out to March 2020.
“Our forward price curve is the furthest out we’ve had and significantly this is the first time we’ve had trades beyond the end of a calendar year,” emsTradepoint General Manager Quintin Tahau said.
Uncertainties lingering from last year’s unplanned outage at Pohokura have been put to rest, Mr Tahau said, with the market displaying awareness of future planned outages, such as upcoming HVDC, Pohokura and Kupe outages publicised in the next six months.
“Brokers are playing an active role in bringing together longer-term deals matching buyers and sellers,” Mr Tahau said.
In 2017, approximately 3% of gas (by volume) was traded through emsTradepoint, with the balance being off-market or bilateral trades. In July and August 2019, approximately 10% of gas was traded through emsTradepoint.
“It’s a sign of increased liquidity and confidence in the market provider,” Mr Tahau said.
For further information, please contact Transpower’s Corporate Communications Team on 021 195 8613.
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Media Release — Unprecendented gas trading proves growing market confidence in emsTradepoint