In October, more than 10% of the total Spanish natural gas demand was exchanged at the MIBGAS trading platform, in charge of managing the Organized Gas Market. Likewise, October, with 2.81 TWh exchanged, was also the month registering the highest volume ever traded through MIBGAS, breakingdwon the former record registered on March 2018 with 2.57 TWh. All in all, total volume traded in the first ten months of 2018 accounted for 19.44 TWh.
2018 is being a year of outstanding evolution for the liquidity on MIBGAS. Thus, from January to October, the percentage of total gas demand traded in the Organized Gas Market accounted for 6.9%, showing timely records over 20%: in particular, 21.89%, 21.18% and 20.97% on March 2nd, 1st and 5th respectively.
There are a total of 75 participants registered to trade on MIBGAS at the end of October, with 49 of them, as an average, placing on daily basis bid and ask orders of natural gas. In addition, currently, two companies, ENGIE España and Axpo Iberia, are playing the role of (voluntary) market makers at MIBGAS, and the new call for candidates (intended to cover this service for the first half of 2019) has just been opened a couple a weeks ago.
Implementation of measures intended to promote liquidity
Moreover, MIBGAS is continuously working on implementing measures intended to promote Market liquidity, some of them already included in the recently published report about the Wholesale Gas Market in 2017 prepared by the Spanish Energy Regulator (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia: CNMC): in particular, the implementation of Trayport (the most widely used trading platform in Europe) in connection with MIBGAS exchange platform, which is due to become effective by the end of the year.
Concerning the market of natural gas futures, MIBGAS Derivatives –the company responsible for the trading of futures of natural gas- dated today, has a total of 18 participants registered and has accounted for 2.21 TWh exchanged, since its implementation in April 2018.
On the other hand, ACER (Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators) positions MIBGAS at the top of the European emerging markets, or in the development phase, a fact which is also registered in the already mentioned CNMC report where, in particular, it is remarked that: “the Spanish market keeps on improving in 2017, as reflected in the upgrading of EFET, ICIS or Oxford Energy Studies ratings, and remains as an emerging hub”.