BME Clearing, the Central Counterparty (CCP) operated by BME, will expand its product range to offer gas natural contracts as of 24th May. The contracts that will be added to BME Clearing are day-ahead (daily contracts) and the whole range of natural gas futures (with weekly, monthly, quarterly, seasonal and annual maturities).
These contracts will be incorporated into the CCP’s energy segment and therefore current participants in that segment will be able to register these products easily.
All contracts will be physically settled at the Spanish PVB (Punto Virtual de Balance). BME Clearing will offer a comprehensive management service, managing the risk and the margins as well as registering the positions, notifying to the Spanish Transmission System Operator (TSO) Enagás while taking care of settlements and the corresponding invoices.
This initiative is highly demanded by current participants and other institutions, interested in a CCP for natural gas products that allows them to manage counterparty risk and to negotiate with firms with which they do not have credit agreements.
The energy segment started its activities in March 2011, clearing power derivatives and currently has 150 participants.