Belgium: Fluxys, APX-ENDEX Join Forces to Develop New Zeebrugge Trading Point

Belgian gas transmission system operator Fluxys and energy exchange APX-ENDEX today announce their cooperation in developing the new Zeebrugge Trading Point which will be created when Fluxys switches to a new Entry/Exit model for its transmission grid by the end of 2012.

APX-ENDEX will provide the exchange services for the new Zeebrugge Trading Point.

The new Entry/Exit model will be fully in line with the objectives of the European Third Energy Package and is to give grid users full flexibility in booking and using capacity in the Belgian grid for the entire range of transmission services. One of the novelties is the creation of the new Zeebrugge Trading Point, a notional trading point on which market based balancing will be introduced. Grid users will be able to buy or sell gas on the APX-ENDEX market for the new Zeebrugge Trading point to balance their gas flows in and out of the network. Fluxys as TSO will also be active on the APX-ENDEX if the overall balance of the network needs to be restored.

APX-ENDEX will be providing the screen-based trading solution to facilitate bids and offers on the new Zeebrugge Trading Point, offering products that accommodate both grid users’ and Fluxys’ needs as TSO. The APX-ENDEX within-day balancing market will also be used as a stepping stone to further develop liquidity of the Belgian market by introducing a range of longer term contracts in order to meet the needs expressed by the market parties.

Additionally, all trades concluded on the gas exchange for the Zeebrugge Trading point will be cleared by APX-ENDEX, which considerably reduces the counterparty risk of the exchange participants. The exchange will also enhance transparency of the market through the provision of clear price signals and indices. Robust price indices are a prerequisite for the further development of market based gas pricing in a gas-to-gas competition environment: they can be used as a reference in the pricing of gas for supply to end consumers in Belgium.

“We are very pleased with this cooperation between Fluxys and APX-ENDEX which is an important step towards the creation of a liquid short-term market in Belgium and allows our customers with access to an additional market. Such cooperation between a gas transmission system operator and an exchange should serve as a reference for the implementation of market based balancing in other parts of Europe as well”, says Bert den Ouden, CEO APX-ENDEX.

“The new Zeebrugge Trading Point will offer our shippers a solid tool for optimizing their efficiency on the Belgian market while at the same time it will foster trading and deepen liquidity”, says Walter Peeraer, CEO of Fluxys. “We are confident that APX-ENDEX will deliver the trading solution for the Zeebrugge Trading Point to develop its full potential.”

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LNG World News Staff, February 7, 2012