EnBW optimises its gas procurement with a new long-term gas supply contract and expands its market position

Karlsruhe. EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG has successfully implemented its gas strategy and arranged a long-term gas supply contract with a foreign gas producer to take effect from October 2012. The gas supply contract has a run time of at least 10 years and an annual volume of around 21 billion kilowatt hours, which converts to around 1.9 billion cubic metres respectively. The financial contract volume is approx. 600 million Euros each year. With this long-term gas supply contract, EnBW has successfully implemented its medium and long-term orientated gas strategy and expanded its position in the gas midstream sector considerably.

"We are optimising our gas procurement portfolio significantly with the gas supply contract. This is a prerequisite for us structuring our own offers in the future as an independent portfolio manager and being able to benefit from an extended value creation chain. The long-term and large volume supply contract also safeguards EnBW economically against the unpredictability of gas procurement", says Hans-Peter Villis, Chairman of the Executive Board at EnBW.

EnBW's contracted gas quantity can be used flexibly in procurement and allows better optimised management of the EnBW gas portfolio together with secured gas accumulator capacities such as Etzel. EnBW had successfully taken a newly built gas accumulator in Etzel into operation just a few months ago. The pricing formula the contract is based on also reflects the increased importance of the wholesale markets for gas pricing and therefore appropriately takes account of the market development and any market price fluctuations.

EnBW's gas business covers a varied portfolio of procurement contracts, gas networks, gas accumulators, trade and sales. EnBW sold a total of 57.4 billion kilowatt hours of gas in the commercial year 2011.