The race is on
BP’s gas trading floor in Houston, Texas. Developing LNG futures in Asia has been talked about for years. (BP plc)
This month, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) group announced it would set up energy derivatives based on the Japan LNG assessment published by RIM Intelligence, a Japanese price reporting agency.
It plans to begin development and clearing of a Japanese LNG contract later this year, which it hopes will provide a vehicle for hedging price risk in the world’s largest LNG importer. Japan has for decades relied on oil-indexed imports tied to the Japan Customs Cleared (JCC) price. The country is liberalising its gas and power markets, meaning power utilities and city-gas suppliers will be more vulnerable to market volatility.