Premium article: Gas exchange could become operational as of April. Romgaz will be the only company forced to sell transparently

One or even two gas exchanges could be established in Romania as of April, if the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) approves the necessary paperwork. Contacted by Hotnews.ro, ANRE President Niculae Havrilet said that by late March OPCOM could be certified to organize gas trading platforms. [cleeng_content id=”872059534″ description=”Buy this translation today. This article has 2729 characters with spaces. ” price=”3.99″ t=”article”]However, not only OPCOM could receive the necessary permit, but also the Romanian Commodities Exchange (BRM), which has expressed its willingness to establish such an exchange. The interesting thing is that the only company forced to sell in a transparent and centralized manner will be Romgaz. The other market players will trade in a centralized manner only if they wish to do so. “By late March we will approve and certify OPCOM as a gas operator. We also have a request from BRM. Certification is the first phase for establishing he trading platforms’, Havrilet stated. He mentioned that the next step is the regulation of the centralized gas trading market. According to Havrilet, these platforms could be operational as of April. However, it remains to be seen who the participants on these markets will be, in conditions in which the private operators are not forced to sell in a centralized manner, as it happens in the electricity sector. Havrilet stated that Law 123/2012 of electricity and natural gas does not provide this obligation in the case of natural gas. The law only stipulates for electricity that transactions must be carried out “on the competitive market, in a transparent, public, centralized and non-discriminatory manner”. An exception is made for amounts supplied on the regulated market. But Romgaz, as a state-owned company, will have to trade transparently. Producers, others than Romgaz, and suppliers will attend these markets only if they wish. It’s less likely that GDF or E.ON will willingly participate on the centralized markets. According to market sources, the representatives of these companies have opposed from the beginning to the idea to establish a gas exchange. ANRE had launched for public debate, in January, a draft order under which gas producers would have been forced to offer for sale by public tender, according to the provisions of the regulation on transactions on the competitive natural gas market, 45% of the natural gas produced in 2013. The order targeted Romgaz and Petrom in particular. Other producers are Amromco Ploiesti, Amromco New York, Aurelian Oil&Gas, Lotus Petrol and Foraj Sonde. Finally, the order hasn’t been applied, the reason being that private companies cannot be forced to sell by public tenders. The establishment of gas trading platforms is a commitment of the Government to the international institutions, the IMF, World Bank and EC. After several postponements, the latest deadline for the organization of the gas exchange is April 1st. PCOM submitted on February 1st to ANRE all the necessary documents for the establishment of such platforms. ANRE only has to approve them, OPCOM being ready to put the platforms into operation at any time. [/cleeng_content]

Original source in Romanian:

http://economie.hotnews.ro/stiri-energie-14394918-bursa-gazelor-putea-deveni-functionala-din-luna-aprilie-romgaz-singura-companie-obligata-vanda-transparent.htm