Continental European Gas Hubs: are they fit for purpose?
By: Patrick Heather
This study will evaluate the current stage of development of each of European gas hubs, starting with Britain, Scandinavia, Benelux, Germany, France and extending to Italy, Austria and the Iberian Peninsula. It will aim to establish their future importance in European gas price formation, as perceived by commercial and regulatory stakeholders. The study will also differentiate between hubs that are essentially ‘transit points’ and those where there is also active ‘spot trading’.
Should European gas contracts move from oil indexation to a ‘gas to gas’ pricing model, then these hubs could be called upon to provide the price basis for existing and future contracts. This study will examine which of the hubs are likely to become sufficiently deep and liquid to serve as price references. These changes would lead to a map of traded gas in Europe very different to the one we see today. But how many hubs are likely to evolve with sufficient depth and liquidity and does their location matter? This study will aim to answer these questions.
Categories / Country and Regional Studies, Gas, Gas Programme, Research in Progress