NGX trades more than one contract. Some trade in US$/MMBtu, but the site states the NGX Empress Market Centre contract, which was being discussed, is priced in Canadian dollars per gigajoule.
A longer passage from the website:
SYNOPSIS OF NGX TRADING SYSTEM
Natural Gas Exchange (NGX) provides electronic trading at three major Canadian market centres: NGX Intra-Alberta, NGX Empress and NGX Union Dawn.
The key features of electronic trading through NGXTS are as follows:
Real-time price visibility and discovery
Non-discriminatory order matching - all trades are matched on the basis of price and FIFO
Provides an array of spot and forward instruments to facilitate portfolio management
NGX contractually assures all transactions (physically and financially) that are executed on its Trading System
Standard trading instruments designed to serve traders requirements
Identical contract (CPA) is signed by all trading parties
Anonymous trading, with numerous buyers and sellers
Reliability with 99.97% availability since inception
Customer access through their own PC from office or home
Price Index for near month contracts are updated and available daily for portfolio management
"Back room" functions are performed by NGX (credit, nominations, invoicing)
NGX MARKET CENTRES
NGX INTRA-ALBERTA Market Centre
Located on the TransCanada PipeLines Limited (west) pipeline system, the Intra-Alberta Market Centre was the first to be offered by NGX and is the most liquid electronic natural gas trading hub in Canada today. As such, it provides for real-time price discovery for the Alberta cash market and added convenience for customers in its seamless integration of nominations and delivery mechanisms. As NGX acts as the agent for the counterparties, complete anonymity is assured from transaction through to delivery.
Additional features of the NGX Intra-Alberta Market Centre include:
Trading in Canadian dollars per gigajoule with a minimum lot of 1 terajoule
Deliveries are conducted as NOVA Inventory Transfers (NIT) via a Third-party Title Transfer Point
Market liquidity provides for excellent NOVA balancing opportunities
Real-time and realistic price discovery
Contractually assured delivery of gas transacted via firm backstopping provided by AECO C HubTM
Flexible access to trading on the Market Centre from the customer's own office
Monthly invoicing structure
Standard, industry-prescribed fixed & NYMEX basis instruments (e.g. Same Day, Near-Month and Index)
Variety of industry participants
NGX EMPRESS Market Centre
Located on the TransCanada PipeLines Limited (TCPL) interconnect at Empress, Alberta (just inside the Alberta/Saskatchewan border), the Empress Market Centre was designed to assist eastern local distribution companies, marketers and industrial end-users in taking title of Alberta natural gas. With the addition of Empress to its portfolio, NGX is able to provide price discovery and enhanced gas supply management to customers across Canada. All transactions are completed in total anonymity with deliveries facilitated using TCPL’s multiple handshake procedure and nomination schedule.
Additional features of the NGX Empress Market Centre include:
Priced in Canadian dollars per gigajoule
Real time and realistic price discovery
Fixed price and indexed forward contracts available for trading
Contractually assured delivery of gas transacted via backstopping hub services agreement
Flexible access to trading on the Market Centre from the customer's own office
Monthly invoicing structure
Standard, industry-prescribed instruments (e.g. Spot Day, Near-Month and Index)
Variety of industry participants
NGX UNION DAWN Market Centre
Located on the Union Gas Limited (Union) transmission system at the interconnect with TransCanada PipeLines Limited (TCPL), the NGX Union Dawn Market Centre provides the benefits of the NGX trading and clearing platform to this growing hub. Interest in the Ontario market and the Dawn point is expected to grow as the power industry is restructured and as new pipelines projected to pass through Ontario are completed. All transactions at the NGX Union Dawn market are anonymous and deliveries are facilitated utilizing the Union Gas Name Change service.
Additional features of the NGX Union Dawn Market Centre include:
Priced in US dollars per MMBtu
Physically cleared in gigajoules
Fixed price and NYMEX basis forward contracts available for trading
Contractually assured delivery of gas transacted via backstopping hub services agreement with the Union Gas Storage Hub |
