Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)

ICE’s products include derivative contracts based on key energy commodities: crude oil and refined oil products such as heating oil and jet fuel, and other products like natural gas and electric power. Recently, ICE Futures introduced what has become Europe’s leading emissions futures contract in conjunction with the European Climate Exchange. The majority of trades in ICE’s markets are cash-settled, based on the value of the underlying commodity, rather than settled through physical delivery of the commodity. Derivative and physical products provide participants with a way to: ICE is the only marketplace offering integrated electronic markets for side-by-side trading of energy products in both futures and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, bringing together the world’s buyers and sellers of derivative and physical energy commodity contracts. ICE’s ability to offer centralized access to futures and OTC contracts on either a cleared or bilateral basis, and through multiple interfaces, allows participants to optimize trading opportunities, operations and strategies. ICE’s Internet-based platform increases the accessibility and transparency of the energy commodity markets and enhances the speed and quality of trade execution. ICE conducts its OTC business directly, and operates its futures business through its wholly-owned subsidiary, ICE Futures, the largest electronic energy futures exchange (formerly known as the International Petroleum Exchange, or IPE) which is a regulated market in the UK. All futures and cleared OTC contracts are processed through a central clearinghouse – LCH. Clearnet. ICE’s trading platform is accessible to eligible market participants, yet highly secure. By partnering with some of the leading Independent System Vendors and supporting development of its API, ICE offers participants numerous channels to its global marketplace. ICE’s open architecture allows other exchanges, such as the Chicago Climate Exchange, to provide electronic markets though the ICE platform.

ICE’s three business lines – ICE Markets, ICE Services and ICE Data –support trading across the OTC and commodity futures markets with an assortment of products and services that make ICE the comprehensive trading solution for global energy market participants. In the late 1990s, Jeffrey Sprecher, ICE’s founder, chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, acquired Continental Power Exchange, Inc. with the objective of developing a platform to provide a more transparent and efficient market structure for OTC energy commodity trading. Mr. Sprecher realized that the electronic revolution in the international financial markets provided a great opportunity to bring the benefits of an electronic marketplace to energy trading. In May 2000, IntercontinentalExchange was established, with its founding shareholders representing some of the world’s largest energy traders. The company’s mission was to transform OTC trading by providing an open, accessible, multi-dealer, around-the-clock electronic energy exchange. The exchange was built and offered the trading community better price transparency, more efficiency, greater liquidity and lower costs than manual trading.

In June of 2001, ICE expanded its business into futures trading by acquiring the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE), now ICE Futures, which operated Europe’s leading open-outcry energy futures exchange. Since 2003, ICE has partnered with the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) to host its electronic marketplace. In April of 2005, the entire ICE portfolio of energy futures became fully electronic. ICE continues to develop new products and services designed to meet the needs of energy market participants. However, the company’s commitment to its markets and participants does not change: ICE is dedicated to providing a marketplace that levels the playing field, creates greater opportunities, and offers access to energy commodities markets from anywhere, at anytime. Much more than a platform, ICE is a global community of energy market participants. The ICE marketplace offers the opportunity for traders, brokers, risk managers and portfolio managers to trade hundreds of energy products in real-time. ICE’s trading and risk management tools make trading fast and secure for more than 7,000 participants worldwide. The ICE energy marketplace is open, liquid and growing.

Traders. ICE offers tremendous hedging, trading and arbitrage opportunities for a diverse marketplace. Through ICE’s markets, participants have direct access to trade execution, real-time price information, market activity and unparalleled transparency in both futures and OTC energy markets. From the world’s leading oil majors, to funds, utilities and financial institutions, energy market participants rely on ICE. Brokers. Energy commodities markets such as oil, natural gas, power and emissions are influenced by environmental and political factors which increase the value of ICE’s global electronic marketplace. ICE works with its customers to provide the best products to suit the trading community’s needs and preferences, while bringing liquidity to facilitate price discovery for all market participants. Risk Managers. In a dynamic energy marketplace, risk management capabilities are more important than ever.

The ICE platform provides risk managers with the tools to monitor and evaluate trading positions in real time. ICE Future’s regulatory compliance and supervisory staff monitor the futures markets to ensure futures trades are appropriately regulated and regulations are enforced. In the bilateral OTC markets, comprehensive counterparty credit filters allow risk managers to control credit lines on an intra-day basis. Also, OTC cleared contracts are an important tool for maximizing credit and provide a unique instrument for risk management. Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs). The growing popularity and inherent volatility of energy commodities and derivatives creates unique trading opportunities. ICE offers a suite of liquid energy contracts, both futures and cleared OTC, to encourage broad participation in the energy marketplace. Clearing services are provided by LCH. Clearnet Ltd, which guarantees contract performance by becoming the counterparty to all cleared contracts.

Portfolio Managers. For those participants who manage diverse portfolios, energy represents an attractive commodity category because of its liquidity and volatility. The ICE marketplace offers an opportunity to diversify and hedge risk against other portfolios holdings. Along with headquarters in Atlanta, ICE has offices in New York, Chicago, Houston, London, Calgary, and Singapore to support operations worldwide.

This allows us to conduct business all day, every day, providing you with more hours of trading and service regardless of your location. In this section you will find specific contact information as well as directions and maps to our offices worldwide. Source -