Extending the Natural Gas Trading Model
In the mid-1990s, Enron began extending its gas trading model to other markets. It sought markets with certain characteristics: the markets were frag- mented, with complex distribution systems, the commodity was fungible, and pricing was opaque. Markets identified as targets included electric power, coal, steel, paper and pulp, water and broadband cable capacity. Enron’s model was to acquire physical capacity in each market and then leverage that investment through the creation of more flexible pricing structures for market participants, using financial derivatives as a way of managing risks. Enron argued that the systems and expertise it had acquired in gas trading could be leveraged to the new markets. The trading model therefore was touted as a way for Enron to continue to grow spectacularly as it diversified from a pure energy firm into a broad-based financial services company.