White Papers Uncertainty is Clouding the Energy Trading Outlook | Page 2

INTRODUCTION
THE GLOBAL ENERGY
MARKETS ARE UNDERGOING
AN UNPRECEDENTED PERIOD
OF NEAR UNRELENTING
CHANGE, AS TECHNOLOGY
INNOVATIONS, REGULATION
AND GEOPOLITICAL UPHEAVAL ARE SHIFTING THE FULCRUM UNDER THE ENERGY
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
BALANCE. FOR ENERGY
COMMODITY PRODUCERS,
TRADERS, AND CONSUMERS
THE IMPLICATION OF THESE
CHANGES IS A PROLONGED
PERIOD OF MARKET
UNCERTAINTY.

A

s the United States continues to rapidly grow its
production of oil and gas from shale, and Canada increases production from its oil-rich tar sands, these
new volumes are helping to support world oil markets as
crude production outside the US declines due to increasing
conflict in the Middle East and North Africa. Should these
conflicts widen, the global markets will be increasingly volatile as supply disruptions outpace the growth in North American production.
Though US natural gas production has not yet impacted the
global market space via LNG exports, there is no doubt that
those exports will happen. While the impact on US prices is
unclear at this time, these exports will be yet another variable with which to content in a US market already unsettled
by increasing regulations that will, by design, reshape the
US energy mix.
Dealing with this uncertainty will require increasing market
vigilance, with a constant view on both the near and longterm energy outlook, and supported by a commodity trading
and risk management solution that facilitates analytics, market visibility and regulatory compliance, such as Eka Energy.