On the 1st October 2021, the two gasmarket areas NCG and Gaspool in Germany will be merged and the Trading Hub Europe (THE) will be created. This will further improve the competitive conditions in Germany. Find all fundamental Information on the new Market Area here in our 10 Q&As.
- Which countries does THE cover?
THE is exclusively a german gas trading hub. THE will replace and merge the former market areas of NCG and Gaspool.
The split into H- and L-gas does still exist. So the number of gas market areas in Germany is reduced from 4 (NCG-H, NCG-L, Gaspool-H, Gaspool-L) to 2 (THE-H, THE-L).
- When will delivery in THE start?
The first contracts will go into physical delivery on 1st of October 2021, so with the start of Q4 21.
- Why was THE introduced?
The main goal is to strengthen the german gas market, the increase of liquidity and a stronger market position when it comes to cross border trading and investments into the grid.
In addition, to significantly increase the churn rate, meaning the number of times gas gets traded before it is consumed.
- Who owns THE?
NCG and Gaspool will operate THE together and split the variety of tasks and responsibilities of the gas grid operation amongst each other.
- When to expect liquidity in THE?
We can expect liquidity to switch rapidly once the market participants have set up their systems accordingly.
After talking to our german suppliers, it becomes clear that they are still in the middle of their internal adjustments of systems, contracts and processes. Currently no reliable go live date can be given.
- Will THE have the same liquidity as TTF?
Some analysts indeed expect the trading volumes in THE to be greater than in NCG and Gaspool combined. However, we should not expect THE to be a real competitor to TTF.
- What will change for enmacc clients?
enmacc clients may have to perform some internal adjustments in order to be prepared to trade THE. This includes the adjustment of some framework contracts with their counterparties in case there is no “discontinue clause” for NCG and Gaspool. There can also be changes required in their Portfolio/ETRM systems, scheduling systems, billing processes, etc.
THE is already available for trading via entender and enmarket.
- What do our clients have to do?
Our clients do not have to do anything to be able to trade THE via enmacc. Our contracts do not specify specific market areas and are therefore still valid. In case we did specify a set of market areas in a contract, THE is considered the logical continuation of NCG and Gaspool and therefore the contract is still valid.
- When can you see THE prices on enmarket?
This depends on our market makers and on how long it will take them to adjust their pricing machines. We expect liquidity on enmarket to be available at around the same time as in the rest of the market.
- What will happen to the old NCG and Gaspool trades?
All existing trading data will still be available on the Deal History and via API. We will disable the possibility to create new NCG and Gaspool requests from Q4 21 on, but no old data will be lost.
