The CTRM Blog

In this ever-evolving world of acronyms, abbreviations and contractions, it really does seem quite possible that one could easily get confused as to the actual meaning and/or message of a product or service.

No truer thing has been said of the CommodityPoint SourceBook series, our very successful series of guides for companies that are seeking to acquire CTRM software, services, or ancillary products, and for which we continue to be peppered with queries as to how valid a specific publication is to the particular vendor or consultant in question and/or which one they should be listed in.

An UtiliPoint IssueAlert
Patrick Reames, Managing Director, CommodityPoint

The announcement last week that OpenLink Financial (OLF), one of the world’s largest CTRM solutions providers, had entered into an agreement to acquire their sometime rival (depending on the industry segment) SolArc has created quite a stir in the market. Though we’ve seen a couple of CTRM vendors change hands at the investor level in the last couple of months, including Hellman and Friedman buying into OLF, this new announcement reflects the largest acquisition of one vendor by another in this space for many years, and is a combining of two of the top five CTRM solution providers.

The acquisition of VIZ Risk Management at the tail end of 2010 by UK-based Brady PLC almost certainly catapulted the company into the top six in E/CTRM software on a global revenue basis creating around about a $30 million annual revenue company operating across almost all commodities. Perhaps even more interesting is that Brady PLC represents the first vendor to enter the top six by revenue globally that actually didn’t get its start in energy commodities. Brady PLC started in the metals commodity trading side of the business and has grown out from there both through acquisition and organically. It has also become the top indigenous European vendor in revenue terms, as well.

I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but ,,,

On June 23rd, 2011 the International Energy Agency (IEA) made a significant announcement. For just the third time in its history, it announced the release of oil from strategic reserves—some 60 million BBLs over the preceding month. The announcement pointed to the Libyan situation, where it estimated some 132 million BBLs of light, sweet crude oil had been removed from the market by the end of May, 2011 and noting that greater supply tightness (and the resulting run in up in prices) could threaten the fragile global recovery. The impact of this “shock” announcement was pretty immediate as crude prices fell with Brent Futures falling close to 7.5 percent in the immediate aftermath.

On Tuesday the 15th of March, Germany announced that it was suspending operations at seven of its pre-1980 nuclear plants for three months in the wake of the ongoing nuclear crisis following the earthquake in Japan, while other European Union (EU) countries called for “stress testing” nuclear power facilities across Europe. An emergency meeting convened by the EU energy commissioner discussed the idea asking questions about the ability of European reactors to cope with natural disasters and/or terrorism. Not only has this already had a huge impact on prices in Europe, but it many respects, it represents a potential turn around in policy for Europe.