HISTORY

NGX's roots date back to early 1993, when Canadian pipeline operator Westcoast Energy Inc. authorized funding to develop a natural gas trading platform.

Deregulation of the natural gas industry had spurred the need for efficiency in conducting transactions. Westcoast envisioned an electronic forum that could meet such needs in the Canadian market: an electronic exchange providing a centralized meeting place for buyers and sellers of natural gas using standardized rules. It was believed that the characteristics of the commodity, such as its fungible nature, coupled with an innovative and evolving base of market participants and an increasing market size, provided an opportunity for electronic trading of natural gas in Canada.
The vision for NGX also included clearing and settlement. NGX has operated since inception as a marketplace where NGX acts as the central counterparty to all transactions consummated onscreen. The inclusion of clearing allowed NGX to offer the marketplace the security of a clearinghouse, the efficiency of central position netting, and the advantages of anonymous trading.

NGX commenced operations on February 10, 1994. The initial product suite included contracts for physical delivery in Western Canada. The popularity of these contracts developed steadily during the next two years, leading NGX to expand the product offering. The early liquidity generated in these core products has provided the base through which NGX has pursued other product opportunities.

By the beginning of 2000, NGX had become a central feature of the Canadian natural gas marketplace. To support the increased need for exchange expertise, Westcoast took on a partner. In March 2000, OMHEX, the world's leading provider of transaction technology, acquired a 51% interest in NGX. Capitalizing on the fit between OMHEX and NGX business lines, OMHEX acquired the remaining 49% interest in NGX in January 2001.

While growing from 2001 to 2003, it became evident that NGX needed to bolster the clearing side of its business to respond to customer demand and increase its competitiveness with other exchanges and clearing facilities in North America. TMX Group acquired 100% of NGX in March of 2004 with a strong interest in supporting this growth.
In 2005, NGX began to expand its product offering in the U.S., adding to its system several points in the West and Mid Continent. In December 2006, NGX entered the power ancillary services space through the acquisition of the Alberta Watt Exchange (Watt-Ex).
In 2007, NGX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced a technology and physical clearing alliance to better serve the North American energy markets. The joint offering launched in February 2008 with the transition of all NGX physical gas and power markets to ICE's screen, followed by the launch of NGX physical clearing for select ICE U.S. hubs in March.

NGX continues to diversify its products and services. Keep watching the News & Notices section of this web site for further updates on this and other new ventures.
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