The understanding of markets, players and commercial basics of the natural gas industry will help participants to draft and negotiate (international) natural gas sales contracts, develop market entry strategies and – ultimately – conclude deals. This course provides an understanding of the economics of the natural gas industry along the value chain, with an international perspective and hands-on experience.
Course Level: Skill Instructor: Andrej Pustisek
Designed for you, if you are...
A manager, engineer or geoscientist from industry, consultancy firms, traders or regulatory and governmental institutions, with an interest in acquiring profound knowledge of the international natural gas business
A manager or (lead) negotiator of natural gas exports, (general) sales or purchase contracts (LNG or pipeline)
A basic understanding of the fundamentals of the industry is assumed.
How we build your confidence
Interactive lecture, based on up-to-date industry information and practical experience
Case studies
Simulations
Web-based information access
Individual and working group exercises
Extensive handouts for individual repetition and additional documentation
By the end of the course you will be confident in your understanding of:
The natural gas business and the international natural gas markets
Competitors’, suppliers’, customers’ and regulators’ intentions and incentives
How to structure, negotiate and evaluate natural gas sales, transportation and storage contracts
Interdependencies and differences between natural gas sales, transportation and storage
How to determine and evaluate natural gas prices
How to deal with (price) risk
Unbundling and the role of natural gas transportation and storage
Current international natural gas market trends
Essential sources of information
Topics
Fundamentals - Natural gas as a source of energy: users, usage and usability - Components, players and interdependencies of the natural gas value chain - incl. trading, transportation, storage and distribution - International natural gas markets (incl. hubs) and infrastructure: supply, demand, sales - Regulation - Security of supply and security of demand
Economics of contracts - General structure and economic objectives - Commodity (long-term vs short-term, different pricing concepts) - Transportation (pipeline and LNG) - Storage - Key non-price terms and conditions and their economic impact in modern markets - Pricing - Implications and interdependencies
Current trends and recent developments - Market developments - Environmental impact - Portfolio management and risk mitigation - (US) shale gas - Globalisation: the impact of LNG - Cross commodity trading - Strategic pitfalls (case studies)