The HC Commodities Podcast

Commodities is risky business. Individual traders have lost billions, companies have been sunk by ill-timed asset investments, and sanctions and tariffs can change a market overnight. The commodity market presents some unique risks to its participants, which is also why it can be an extremely lucrative sector. Risk management is designed to protect businesses from taking on unknown or too much risk, yet unforeseen losses and scandals continue.In this episode, David Port guides us through the unique sources of risk in the commodities business, the tools used to manage them, and the factors that continue to contribute to outsized and unexpected losses. We also look at what firms can do to build more effective risk management platforms and the future of the discipline. David has a been Chief Risk Officer for Noble Group, Eon Global Commodities and Citadel, among others.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.comTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

It has been a challenging couple of years for crude oil producers. Low prices, reticent investors over the impacts of energy transition and now COVID. Nick Allen, General Manager of Global Crude and NGLs at ConocoPhillips, joins us to discuss the state of the crude oil markets and the drivers behind the current trends from acquisitions and consolidation to the surge in returns from trading books. Nick also gives insight into ConocoPhillips’ recent announcement regarding the proposed acquisition of Concho Resources and how the firm is approaching energy transition and handling the global pandemic.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.comTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

Is sustainability another cost the commodity trading world must face or does it present one of the biggest opportunities for the sector over the next decade – bringing new products, new markets and new points of differentiation? And if investors, financiers and customers demand it, can participants afford to ignore it?On November 10, 2020, Paul Chapman hosted a panel at the Reuters Commodity Trading Summit focused on sustainability and profitability in commodities trading. On the panel were Matthew Chamberlain, CEO of the London Metals Exchange and Andrew Lichter, VP Corporate Development and Strategy at the Mobius Risk Group. The panel discussed whether we need new products to capture sustainability attributes, how to build trust and track these products and what are the commercial drivers, the hurdles and opportunities for the commodities sector itself.  To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.comTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

Will clean hydrogen be one of the most actively traded commodities in the next decade? Already exchanges are publishing prices and trading houses, shippers, utilities, and oil and gas producers are engaged in projects and building teams and regulators are discussing market structures.In this episode our guest, Erik Rakhou of Baringa Partners, walks us through the factors and steps it will take to get there, the various initiatives underway right now, and the likely journey the market will take. This is an unmissable episode for anyone considering the commercial opportunities in clean hydrogen now and in the future.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.comTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

Joining us to explain the why, what and how of hydrogen is Dr JJ Traynor, principal and co-founder of HydrogenOne Capital – an investment firm dedicated to the sector. JJ brings 30 years of energy and finance experience and walks us through the industry today and predictions about what (and where) it will be over the coming decades. Grey, Blue, Green and Turquoise, we cover it all.

Lower prices, lower volatility and increased transparency, led participants to exit and drive consolidation. Now that dynamic could be set to change as US production is under threat from low prices and weak investment and the US gas market goes global with LNG. Joining us to discuss the US Natural Gas market’s history and future is Peter Tumminello, Group President, Commercial Businesses, Southern Company Gas – a family of gas companies offering a range of products and services from storage, transmission and marketing and trading, which is a division of Southern Company, one of the US’s largest utilities. 

2020 saw the creation of PipeChina to further streamline the market’s transportation and distribution. It is also a unique market with differences at the political, regulatory and market structure level (LNG is trucked around the country!). Is it the next big trading opportunity in natural gas? Will it go on to dominate LNG import market? Joining us to discuss this fascinating market and its future is Mark Lay, Deputy General Manager of Derivatives Trading at ENN – the country’s largest publicly traded utility and natural gas distributor.

Joining us to discuss three big ways the market will change over the next 5 years is Simon Collins, CEO and Founder of TradeCloud, a Director at EdgePetrol and former Head of Bulk Trading at Trafigura. Simons uses his wealth of experience in running trading businesses and in launching, and investing in, technology centered solutions to the commodities sector to give us his take on where, how and to whom change is coming.

It has also brought losses as investors and investments have been challenged, and even surprised, by the risks in commodities. Furthermore, it may also be facing an industry reckoning of epic proportions in the shale industry. Joining us to discuss PE is David Port, a partner at TDI Capital advisors, and commodities market veteran.

Often, energy and natural resource production is located in areas more prone to climate change, and frequently in emerging market nations, climate change risks highlight the protection/risk transfer "gap" that can lead to economic or political instability.   A recent Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) report highlighted the risks posed by climate change while urging the development of new products and derivatives needed by businesses to manage the risks.  In this episode, Brian Beebe, Head Origination Weather & Energy Americas, at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, gives us a guided tour of what businesses face and the innovative risk transfer tools available and in development to manage and even profit from the change.