OpenLink, the global leader in trading and risk management solutions to the energy, commodities, corporate, and financial services industries, today announced that Gaznat has gone live with its Optimization solution for physical asset portfolio optimization.

Based in Vevey, Switzerland, Gaznat is a supplier and transporter of high pressure natural gas to Western Switzerland. Natural gas distributors such as large industrial services around the Lake Geneva area, and private companies count among Gaznat's main clients.

An existing client of OpenLink’s IRM solution, an energy trading and risk management platform encompassing; deal capture, reporting, project planning, risk management, settlement and invoicing - Gaznat decided to select the portfolio optimization module, and is now fully live with the new functionality after one month configuring the solution.

Gaznat’s initial two year optimization horizon for its physical network includes:

-         Long and short term procurement contracts of its natural gas supplies

-         Storage of the physical gas

-         Transport capacity of gas pipelines

Xavier Meyer the ETRM Manager at Gaznat advised: ”We are now able to model our physical network in the Optimization suite, to produce vastly more efficient scheduling based on the inter-dependencies of each asset. Something which will be a great improvement and will enable us to unlock the full value of our physical assets.”

Roland Jones, Managing Director of the IRM Division at OpenLink said: “Energy assets such as power plants, storage facilities, and pipelines often represent the largest source of risk or reward within an energy portfolio, and the most forward-thinking energy companies seek to maximize the value from their assets. This means lowering costs through more efficient operation, and increasing revenue from trading around each asset’s constraints and opportunities, typically resulting in a 1-3% efficiency gain. We are delighted to support Gaznat in their drive for increased value.”