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Vienna Stock Exchange Invests in Central European Gas Hub

After starting joint gas sales through CEGH at the end of 2009, the Vienna Stock Exchange has also acquired a 20% stake in the Central European Gas Hub (CEGH). This continues the successful collaboration between OMV and the Vienna Stock Exchange.

-CEGH and the Vienna Stock Exchange have been successfully cooperating since the end of 2009. As partners, we are expanding on solid foundations-” stated Heinrich Schaller, a member of the Vienna Stock Exchange Board. The 20% investment by the Vienna Stock Exchange means that the successful collaboration, which began just a few months ago, is now documented in the ownership structure. -From the very beginning, our goal has been to establish CEGH as the most important gas hub in continental Europe. With the investment from the Vienna Stock Exchange and collaboration with European Commodity Clearing (ECC), we have made a significant step towards that goal-” stated Werner Auli, a member of OMV’s Executive Board for Gas and Energy (G&P). The Central European Gas Hub (CEGH) is one of the most important hubs in continental Europe, providing its traders with easier access to the gas market. Since CEGH was established four years ago, the volume of gas sales through its currently 104 registered participants has drastically increased to the current 2.8 bcm (billion cubic meters) per month.

At the beginning of the CEGH gas exchange’s operations within the Vienna Stock Exchange in December 2009, the range of services offered by CEGH has been expanded to include an exchange function, alongside the standard OTC trading that has been successful for the last four years. CEGH provides gas traders with a platform that allows gas trading at various entry and exit points of the Austrian gas transit system. The most important trading point is the Baumgarten hub, which is also an important platform for gas transit in Central Europe. Baumgarten is expected to gain even more importance in the coming years, following the connection of new pipelines such as Nabucco and South Stream. Spot trading on the CEGH gas exchange of the Vienna Stock Exchange began in December 2009. “CEGH’s gas exchange within the Vienna Stock Exchange plans to expand its operations to futures trading in the second half of 2010,“ stated Harald Wüstrich, CEO of CEGH. (M.N.)