A rough examination of the value of gas storage

This paper studies the impast of a fire in 2006 which removed the possibility of access to the Rough gas storage facilities covering 80% of total UK storage, at a time when major withdrawals from storage would likely have taken place. Implicitly, it shows the value of such storage facilities, in a country with relatively little storage, where we might therefore see a considerable impact. We find that the major effect on activity was through an increased sensivity of supply to prices and an increased variance in this sensitivity, not through plysical shortages of gas

A Rough Examination of the value of gas storage

This paper studies the impast of a fire in 2006 which removed the possibility of access to the Rough gas storage facilities covering 80% of total UK storage, at a time when major withdrawals from storage would likely have taken place. Implicitly, it shows the value of such storage facilities, in a country with relatively little storage, where we might therefore see a considerable impact. We find that the major effect on activity was through an increased sensivity of supply to prices and an increased variance in this sensitivity, not through plysical shortages of gas.

Theory of Storage: An Empirical Assessment of the European Natural Gas Market

We analyze the relation between European natural gas storage facilities and price patterns at major trading points, considering the theory of storage to derive a testable hypothesis imposed by the non-arbitrage condition. To model the efficiency of the natural gas market, we apply two indirect tests absent the scarcity of European inventory data. We find that operators of storage facilities realize seasonal arbitrage profits, and that market performance overall is substantially distinct from the competitive benchmark.Storage, energy commodity, natural gas, convenience yield

Some numerical methods for solving stochastic impulse control in natural gas storage facilities

The valuation of gas storage facilities is characterized as a stochastic impulse control problem with finite horizon resulting in Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equations for the value function. In this context the two catagories of solving schemes for optimal switching are discussed in a stochastic control framework. We reviewed some numerical methods which include approaches related to partial differential equations (PDEs), Markov chain approximation, nonparametric regression, quantization method and some practitioners’ methods. This paper considers optimal switching problem arising in valuation of gas storage contracts for leasing the storage facilities, and investigates the recent developments as well as their advantages and disadvantages of each scheme based on dynamic programming principle (DPP

Report on the XBase Project

This project addressed the conceptual fundamentals of data storage, investigating techniques for provision of highly generic storage facilities that can be tailored to produce various individually customised storage infrastructures, compliant to the needs of particular applications. This requires the separation of mechanism and policy wherever possible. Aspirations include: actors, whether users or individual processes, should be able to bind to, update and manipulate data and programs transparently with respect to their respective locations; programs should be expressed independently of the storage and network technology involved in their execution; storage facilities should be structure-neutral so that actors can impose multiple interpretations over information, simultaneously and safely; information should not be discarded so that arbitrary historical views are supported; raw stored information should be open to all; where security restrictions on its use are required this should be achieved using cryptographic techniques. The key advances of the research were: 1) the identification of a candidate set of minimal storage system building blocks, which are sufficiently simple to avoid encapsulating policy where it cannot be customised by applications, and composable to build highly flexible storage architectures 2) insight into the nature of append-only storage components, and the issues arising from their application to common storage use-cases

Organic Vegetable Storage in Wales – Opportunities and Constraints

There is a growing interest in buying local produce, but there is insufficient produce available in Wales to meet this demand. One problem is lack of storage. Much organic vegetable produce in Wales is lost by poor storage. ADAS has undertaken this study on behalf of Organic Centre Wales under the Farming Connect Scheme, to assess opportunities for improving storage and increasing the available quantity of Welsh vegetables. The number of organic vegetable producers in Wales in 2006 was estimated to be 118 (Horticultural Network, 2006). The main crops stored in Wales are potatoes, carrots, squash, onions, cabbage and celeriac. Many factors may contribute directly or indirectly to suitability for storage, these include length of life in store and quality of the crops in store. Costs of storage are perceived to be high but investment in storage facilities can increase turnover and maximise marketable potential. The majority of growers in Wales use field storage due to its simplicity, but there are disadvantages to field storage. Alternatives to field storage include indoor and outdoor clamps and cold storage. Each method has advantages and disadvantages. Recommendations • A joint effort by the whole organic fruit and vegetable industry is required to increase the amount of organic produce produced within Wales. • Processing and Marketing grants for improvement of storage for SME and or cooperatives are required to increase the amount of local produce produced and sold in Wales. • Research is needed into the economic feasibility and issues involved with setting up and running storage facilities using alternative energy • The practicalities and costs of using biodegradables needs to be investigated • Best storage practices should be establishe

Economic analysis of utilizing Kainji gas kiln for fish smoking in the Kainji Lake Basin of Nigeria

Marketing of smoked fish in the Kainji Lake Basin (Nigeria) has been found to be complex, traditional and inefficient. It is also said to be limited in scope due to poor handling and processing techniques, lack of storage facilities and inadequate marketing informations. The invention of Kainji gas kiln has been found suitable to overcoming poor handling and processing techniques. This paper discusses the feasibility of operating Kainji gas kiln commercially supported with adequate storage facilities and competent management hands. The financial indicators of net present value (NPV), 47,481.11, Internal rate of return (IRR) 24% and payback period of 2.3 years that are calculated confirmed that the commercial use of Kainji gas kiln is indeed profitably feasibl

Modeling Storage and Demand Management in Electricity Distribution Grids

Storage devices and demand control may constitute beneficial tools to optimize electricity generation with a large share of intermittent resources through inter-temporal substitution of load. We quantify the related cost reductions in a simulation model of a simplified stylized medium-voltage grid (10kV) under uncertain demand and wind output. Benders Decomposition Method is applied to create a two-stage stochastic program. The model informs an optimal investment sizing decision as regards specific 'smart grid' applications such as storage facilities and meters enabling load control. Model results indicate that central storage facilities are a more promising option for generation cost reductions as compared to demand management. Grid extensions are not appropriate in any of our scenarios. A sensitivity analysis is applied with respect to the market penetration of uncoordinated Plug-In Electric Vehicles which are found to strongly encourage investment into load control equipment for `smart` charging and slightly improve the case for central storage devices.Storage, demand management, stochastic optimization, Benders Decomposition