Banks and oil firms to team up in net trading exchange
3 May 2000
BP Amoco, Shell and TotalFina Elf have joined forces with key names in finance, including Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, to establish an Internet-based market for oil trading.
The exchange will specialise in trading over-the-counter energy and metals and is worth approximately £1.1trillion annually. The intercontinental exchange will be based in the US and will open for trading later this year. The exchange is presently the biggest of its kind to use the web in the energy sector but ChemConnect, the World Chemical Exchange, has been operating since 1995 for trade in chemicals and plastics (see PE, March, p22).
The increase in e-commerce has prompted more companies to take to the web. Borealis and SABIC have both acquired minority equity stakes in ChemConnect. According to Borealis's ceo Svein Rennemo: `Borealis has an ambition to be an industry forerunner in the area of electronic commerce.
Manufacturers, buyers and intermediaries around the world use ChemConnect to negotiate pricing, complete transactions and to find trading partners.
* Chance & Hunt, celebrating a successful year after its demerger from ICI, plans to strengthen its position throughout Europe with key partners who share its e-commerce capabilities.
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