This how to book covers the various mechanics of natural gas trading, including the physical (cash) market for natural gas production, transportation, distribution, and consumption. It has been 23 years since Trading Natural Gas: A Nontechnical Guide was released, and many things have changed: electronic trading, power market deregulation, fracking and the shale revolution, pipelines reversing flow patterns, and LNG exports from the United States. In this second edition, the author addresses these changes, beginning with a deeper dive into the natural gas market fundamentals of supply, demand, storage, and transportation, maintaining a focus on the relationship to market pricing. Following discussion of the mechanics of trading physical natural gas, the heart of the text remains a study of financial derivative products specific to natural gas trading, presented through definitions and trading examples. Many of these products and concepts are still current and have been refreshed and kept intact. New material on the role of natural gas in the power market as it relates to fuel- switching and economic dispatch, as well as a survey of the global LNG market and US exports, is included in this second edition to bring in two of the biggest factors influencing prices in today's market. Additional statistics, tables, graphs and suggested spreadsheet templates have been provided throughout the book to help visualize many of the discussions on data. Features and Benefits Supply / Demand Fundamentals Market overviews (financial and physical) Contracts Derivatives Technical Analysis Risk Controls Audience Field level personnel Management Energy lending and finance professionals Anyone who seeks to understand how, or relies upon, energy markets Students

This 150-page detailed overview of the North American gas industry offers an insider's perspective on the fast-paced and unpredictable business of natural gas. Topics covered include natural gas origins, the physical system and how it's operated, market dynamics and players, risk management techniques, an up-to-date look at today's regulatory environment, and much more. The book is ideal for those new to the industry, as well as veterans who need a big picture perspective of the electric business. The book is easy-to-read, contains a number of charts and diagrams to help simplify complex industry concepts, and includes a glossary and list of acronyms.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This book examines how China can increase the share of natural gas in its energy system. China’s energy strategy has global ramifications and impact, and central to this strategy is the country’s transition from coal to gas. The book presents the culmination of a two-year collaboration between the Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC) and Shell. With the Chinese government’s strategic aim to increase the share of gas in the energy mix from 5.8% in 2014 to 10% and 15% in 2020 and 2030 respectively, the book outlines how China can achieve its gas targets. Providing both quantifiable metrics and policy measures for the transition, it is a much needed addition to the literature on Chinese energy policy. The research and the resulting recommendations of this study have fed directly into the Chinese government’s 13th Five-Year Plan, and provide unique insights into the Chinese government and policy-making. Due to its global impact, the book is a valuable resource for policy makers in both China and the rest of the world.

Cover -- Title page -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Introduction: A New Era of Gas -- 1. The Changing Global Gas Sector -- 2. The Politics and Commerce of American LNG Exports -- 3. The Politics of Supply: Russiaand Gazprom -- 4. The Politics of Dependence Transformed: Europe -- 5. The Politics of Transit: Ukraine and Belarus -- 6. The Politics of Isolated Suppliers: The Caucasus and Central Asia -- 7. The Politics of Demand: China and Beyond -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Acknowledgments -- Index

This book discusses and explains the economics of each stage of the natural gas value chain, including the economic impact of restrictions, rules and decisions that are ostensibly technical in nature, as well as commercially relevant contractual stipulations. Each chapter features several real-world examples illustrating the essential points. Natural gas is broadly considered the (leading) conventional source of primary energy. Complementing renewable energies’ utilization and offering a highly flexible yet relatively clean fuel, the worldwide natural gas markets are expected to grow. Despite the fact that Europe – where a degree of stagnation in natural gas consumption is being observed and is expected to continue – is not following this trend, international natural gas markets are becoming increasingly interdependent. Therefore, any analysis and discussion of natural gas markets at each level has to have an international rather than national focus.

Moving beyond most conventional thinking about energy security in Europe which revolves around stability of supplies and the reliability of suppliers, this book presents the history of European policy-making regarding energy resources, including recent controversies about shale gas and fracking. Using the United States as a benchmark, the author tests the hypothesis that EU energy security is at risk primarily because of a lack of market integration and cooperation between member states. This lack of integration still prohibits natural gas to flow freely throughout the continent, which makes parts of Europe vulnerable in case of supply disruptions. The book demonstrates that the EU gas market has been developing at different speeds, leaving the Northwest of the continent reasonably well integrated, with sufficient trade and liquidity and different supplies, whereas other parts are less developed. In these parts of Europe there is a structural lack of investments in infrastructure, interconnectors, reverse flow options and storage facilities. Thus, even though substantial progress has been made in parts of the EU, single source dependency often prevails, leaving the relevant member states vulnerable to market power abuse. Detailed comparisons are made of the situations in the Netherlands and Poland, and of energy policy in the USA. The book dismantles some of the existing assumptions about the concept of energy security, and touches upon the level of rhetoric that features in most energy security and policy debates in Europe.