With a formal signing, Lithuania’s gas transmission system operator Amber Grid and the European Energy Exchange (EEX) sealed the acquisition under which EEX will take 66 per cent of the shares in the regional gas exchange GET Baltic. As a result, the gas exchange operating in the three Baltic countries and Finland will become part of the EEX Group. Amber Grid will hold the remaining 34 per cent of the shares and will continue to support the further development of the gas business in the dynamic Baltic Sea region.
The common goal is to strengthen the markets of Get Baltic and foster integration into the pan-European gas trading markets. The short-term and long-term contracts of GET Baltic will be offered under EEX’s German exchange license, harmonising the products and making use of the EEX trading infrastructure as well as state-of-the-art clearing services provided by European Commodity Clearing. Market participants will have access to the European gas markets operated by EEX. Once admitted at EEX, the Get Baltic Trading Participants will be able to trade not only the current spot and futures contracts but also other hubs and asset classes offered by EEX. Additional positive impulses will come from the access of existing EEX Trading Participants to the new hubs under one single rulebook.
“We are happy to have the world’s leading energy exchange as a strategic partner on our side,” said Nemunas Biknius CEO of Amber Grid. “Our joint efforts will increase the choice and quality of services and products offered by GET Baltic to the region, following the integration of the Baltic and Finnish gas markets into the single European Union market last year via interconnection Poland – Lithuania (GIPL). More intense trade and a larger number of market participants are expected to result in increased liquidity and more competitive gas prices.”
EEX offers natural gas contracts in 10 countries and 11 hubs across Europe and with a traded volume of 6.669,50 terawatt-hours (TWh) the Leipzig-based exchange is the world´s biggest gas spot exchange and the second largest in European Gas Futures trading.
“We aim to create a harmonised European gas trading platform based on EEX trading infrastructure,” commented Peter Reitz, CEO of EEX. “The acquisition of the majority shares in GET Baltic extends EEX Group’s offering for the pan-European gas markets as well as our customer base. As a result, this creates new opportunities to increase liquidity in all gas markets operated by EEX and GET Baltic. Our new colleagues of the GET Baltic team will therefore remain of key importance to serve the local customer base and further develop the product offering in line with market needs.”
GET Baltic is a significant market player in the region, with a 29 per cent market share of total gas consumed in the Baltic and Finnish markets in the first quarter of 2023 (17 per cent in 2022) traded on its systems. In 2022, a volume of 7 TWh of natural gas was traded on the GET Baltic exchange.