Argus launches new prices ahead of German gas market merger

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Jul 15, 2020, 06:00 ET

LONDON and HAMBURG, Germany, July 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Global commodity price reporting agency Argus has launched forward gas price assessments for Germany's new virtual trading point (VTP) in preparation for the merger of the NCG and Gaspool hubs on 1 October 2021.

The German government, network regulator and system operators are on course to launch a new, single German gas hub on 1 October 2021, six months ahead of a 1 April 2022 deadline. The new German hub, which will be managed by Trading Hub Europe, will provide a single reference price for the German gas market from October next year.

Argus is launching new assessments before the merger to give market participants maximum transparency about forward prices, an independent reference, and the tools to plan ahead.

The new Argus Germany VTP assessments are for monthly and quarterly contracts delivered from 1 October 2021 and beyond. As the merger date draws nearer, Argus will introduce forward months, balance-of-month, day-ahead and weekend assessments.

With its large industrial base, considerable winter heating demand and flexible gas-fired power plants, Germany is Europe's largest gas consumer. It is also a major import and transit hub, receiving large supplies of Norwegian and Russian gas for its own use and for onward transportation to its neighbours. Germany also hosts the largest storage operation in the EU. German storage provides much of Europe's demand flexibility in summer months and supply during the heating season.

But the NCG and Gaspool market areas are still relatively illiquid compared with the UK's NBP and the Dutch TTF, now Europe's most traded gas market. The pending market merger, standardisation and simpler system costs are meant to encourage more trade as Germany looks to build its share of European gas transactions.

"We have worked closely with participants in the German gas market to develop these new price assessments," Argus Media chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks said. "We are pleased that we will be able to help increase transparency and the transition to the new trading arrangements."

Argus' existing NCG and Gaspool assessments are widely used and will continue to be published for the foreseeable future. Any changes to these or other price assessments will only be made following consultation with market participants.

For more information about the new Argus Germany VTP assessments, visit our website.

About Argus Media

Argus is an independent media organisation with more than 1,000 staff. It is headquartered in London and has 25 offices in the world's principal commodity trading and production centres. Argus produces price assessments and analysis of international energy and other commodity markets, and offers bespoke consulting services and industry-leading conferences.

Companies in 140 countries around the world use Argus data to index physical trade and as benchmarks in financial derivative markets as well as for analysis and planning purposes.

Argus was founded in 1970 and is a privately held UK-registered company. It is owned by employee shareholders, global growth equity firm General Atlantic and Hg, the specialist software and technology services investor.

Argus contact information

London: Seana Lanigan
+44 20 7780 4200
Email Seana

Singapore: Tomoko Hashimoto
+65 6496 9960
Email Tomoko

Moscow: Alexey Komarov
+7 495 933 75 71
Email Alexey

Houston: Karen Johnson
+1 281 732 9489
Email Karen

SOURCE Argus Media