Energy market overview pdf

I N D USTRY INSIG HTS E NER G Y S AL ES & T R ADI N G : 2 0 1 2 M A R K ET OV ERV I EW & 2013 FO R EC AS T S

ENERGY SALES & TRADING 2012 MARKET REVIEW

As with the wider commodities market, 2012 has proven to be a year of considerable change for the global energy markets. Whilst there have been major organisational and structural changes to companies such as LDH Energy and ConocoPhillips, there have still been numerous companies that have continued to build their footprint in the space, with some exciting hires. Mercuria is arguably the best example here with the hire of Roger Jones and several members of the Barclays oil team earlier this year paving the way for a number of other intriguing hires, most recently a group of light ends traders from Morgan Stanley. Generally this trend has continued with the trading houses looking to capitalize on the best talent keen to leave the banking space.

Similar optimism can also be seen in the power and gas markets, where although both have been through difficult periods, there are now indications of new activity and opportunities across the markets, particularly in Europe. Evidence of this can be seen in firms like Freepoint continuing the expansion of their European operation, specifically in developing their presence in both UK power and gas with significant hires from firms such as Total and EON. Similarly growing energy powers, such as Gazprom, are looking to complement their dominant gas businesses with a transferable presence in the UK and wider European power region.

Regionally there has been continued growth across the AsiaPacific region, with both regional and global firms committing increasing resources into sustaining their presence in the market.

Among the most active of the regional players has been Brightoil Petroleum, who made a number of significant hires early in the year and throughout 2012 to establish a new crude trading business with the aim of positioning themselves to be one of the biggest suppliers into the lucrative domestic market, before also having significant changes to their more established fuel and bunker business in the latter stages of the year.

2013 MARKET FORECAST Despite an air of negativity surrounding the market we believe the industry is simply undergoing a dramatic period of change.

This shift in emphasis will affect many of the world’s major energy traders with firms such as Glencore, Trafigura, Vitol and Mercuria, along with the trading arms of energy majors such as BP, Shell, having to rethink how they operate. This can be typified no better than the on-going changes to the global oil scene, where many major energy companies expect a decline in international crude trading for the next few years, reversing years of steady growth. Imports in traditionally vibrant markets such as North America could well decrease throughout 2013, whilst other regions continue to grow in prominence such as Asia and Canada (a trend which was seen across the market in 2011 and has continued this year, with Shell recently applying for a license to export US domestic crude to Canada). Many firms are putting in considerable investments to take advantage of these rapidly emerging markets and we expect this investment strategy to continue into 2013 for both major and minor players in the market.

In the banking space the commitment to the energy markets over the next 12 months will no doubt continue to be affected by on-going changes to regulation across the different regions and it is likely there will be more firms exiting the business.

It will be interesting to see in particular how banks that have restructured heavily this year will adapt to the changes. For example BNP Paribas, who had wide spread changes to their US business this year after the shutdown of their Houston operation in late 2011, and also lost many people at senior level in Europe and looked to consolidate by combining their energy OTC sales and broking desks in recent months. Whether we will see a reinvestment in energy and commodities generally by such banks in 2013 will remain to be seen and ultimately is likely to depend on market conditions as a whole

SALARY OVERVIEW After such considerable compensation fluctuations within the energy market over the past two years, there were signs of generally more stability to overall packages in 2012. This was arguably an indication of firms looking to align more with the market rate after such differing strategies employed by firms during the worst of the financial crisis, to ensure they could retain the best staff where possible.

The table below gives a broad overview of average annual base salaries for energy traders across Europe, the US and Asia from major investment banks, trading houses and hedge funds. These benchmarks have been averaged over a sample of candidates and take into consideration anomalies and exceptional performers. In terms of bonus payments, as with the previous two years, payments and payment structure were most negatively influenced in the banking space and the on-going

Europe (1,000USD)

US (1,000USD)

Asia (1,000SGD)

Desk Assistant 0-1 years’ experience

35-48

60-77

45-60

Associate 3-5 years’ experience

55-80

94-145

95-140

Vice President 4-7 years’ experience

71-125

140-200

140-255

Director 7-10 years’ experience

130-200

205-305

255-415

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