The Henry Hub natural gas swap is a financially settled futures contract for natural gas transactions at the Henry Hub, the principal pricing point for natural gas in North America. The contract is one of 66 energy futures contracts that can be transacted off of the Exchange and submitted to the Exchange clearinghouse.
Since the inception of clearing services for off-Exchange transactions on May 31, 2002, 4.8 million contracts have been cleared through the Exchange, the equivalent of 70 million megawatt hours of electricity, 11.7 quadrillion British thermal units (Btus) of natural gas, 34 million barrels of crude oil and refined products, and 3 million tons of coal, with a notional value of approximately $57 billion. Nearly 300 companies are registered to clear trades.
Exchange President J. Robert Collins, Jr., said, "The growth of clearing activity in the swap futures contracts for natural gas and other energy products is a clear indication that counterparty credit risk remains a matter of concern to market participants. The availability of the Exchange's clearing services for off-exchange transactions has been welcomed by our customers in all segments of the energy markets."
