Argus launches first month-ahead index for Australia's Wallumbilla gas market

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Jun 06, 2014, 01:02 ET

SINGAPORE, June 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus has launched the first month-ahead index for Australia's east coast Wallumbilla natural gas market in the Argus LNG Daily market report.

The month-ahead Wallumbilla price, known as the AWX index, is designed to offer the Australian gas industry a reliable weekly price reference for natural gas traded at Wallumbilla in southeast Queensland for delivery on a month-ahead basis.

The AWX index comes at a critical time in the development of the Australian east coast gas market. Queensland's first LNG exports are scheduled to start later this year, and Australian energy market operator AEMO launched the Wallumbilla gas supply hub in March. Wallumbilla has the potential become a key gas pricing point for the east coast, given its position between Gladstone, Brisbane and more southerly Australian demand centres.

The AWX index has been developed in close co-operation with a wide range of companies involved in the east coast Australian gas market, all of which are looking for increased transparency to assist them in their price negotiations.

"The index is a step towards greater price transparency for the Australian east coast gas market," Argus Media chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks said. "By giving Australian gas market participants a transparent reference point on which to base a transaction, Argus is helping to develop liquidity in this market."

The AWX month-ahead price appears in a weekly east coast Australian gas markets page launched in Argus LNG Daily in October 2013. The coverage includes the AVX index for month-ahead Victoria gas, and Gladstone netback pricing, designed to provide an indicative reference point for the value of LNG fob cargoes traded at Gladstone. A weekly east coast gas market commentary focuses on supply and demand fundamentals in the region, and the increasing interplay between the global LNG market and the Australian domestic gas market.

The Argus LNG Daily report provides spot price assessments for Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, west Africa, Europe and the Caribbean, information about shipping movements, market-moving news and analysis. The report has been carefully designed to provide global LNG market participants with the critical insights and key LNG statistics and data needed to stay ahead of market developments, as well as to help shape commercial strategies.

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Jim Nicholson
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About Argus Media

Argus is an independent media organisation with over 600 full time staff. It is headquartered in London and has offices in each of the world's principal commodity centres. Its main activities comprise publishing market reports containing price assessments, market commentary and news, and business intelligence reports that analyse market and industry trends.

More than half of Argus employees are commodity journalists who specialise in reporting news and price information relating to physical energy and related commodity markets. They operate according to a rigorous Editorial Code of Conduct and a compliance and ethics policy that align with best journalistic practice, including the avoidance of conflicts of interest.

Argus is a leading provider of data on prices and fundamentals, news, analysis, consultancy services and conferences for the global crude, oil products, natural gas, electricity, coal, emissions, bioenergy, fertilizer, petrochemical, metals and transportation industries. Data provided by Argus are widely used for indexation of physical trade. Companies, governments and international agencies use Argus information for analysis and planning purposes.

Argus has 19 offices globally, including London, Houston, Washington, New York, Calgary, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore, Dubai, Beijing, Tokyo, Sydney, Moscow, Astana and other key centres of the commodity industries. Argus was founded in 1970 and is a privately held UK-registered company.

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