SUBSCRIBER NOTE: Platts launches methodology change to final daily natural gas indices for Platts locations

Effective October 31, 2017, S&P Global Platts has launched the following methodology changes in final daily natural gas indices for Platts locations as part of an agreement with Intercontinental Exchange to improve natural gas price transparency and bolster North America price benchmarks.

Final Daily Indices For Platts Locations: Platts price reporter trades and non-Platts price reporter ICE Exchange trades are used in these indices. Platts price reporter ICE trades are removed from the ICE trade data to eliminate double counting. Both the buy and sell side of ICE trades will be counted in the indices. For trades not done on ICE, only the buy or sell side reported by the price reporter will be counted in the indices. The trades are screened for outliers using existing mechanisms as well as verifying trade data that occurs outside of the transparent trading range observed on the ICE exchange.

At locations with robust trading activity, the index is the volume weighted average of all trades. However, the volume weighted average is not always an adequate indicator of trading activity. Therefore, in less liquid or highly volatile markets, Platts may look at other means of determining an index price, which could include but is not limited to the median and average of the median and volume weighted average. Platts makes every effort to assess prices for locations with no trades. Platts will examine other market information to determine whether it can publish an assessment. These assessments are clearly designated by asterisks in price tables and include an assessment rationale that describes how the price was derived. Assessments are based on other market information, including but not limited to, an analysis of historical daily prices, locational spread relationships to values at related liquid pricing points, non-Platts price reporter matched eConfirm trades, and ICE physical bids and offers. If that is not possible, Platts will publish no price for the day.

Please send any comments to the above to gas_survey_comments@platts.com and pricemethodology@spglobal.com. For written comments, please provide a clear indication if comments are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing. Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.