- Business and Operations Support
- Energy Trader (North America)
- NOC #1113
Energy Trader (North America)
You help a company convert energy production into profit. You bring the company’s products to a fast-paced market. You sell. You negotiate. You buy. You trade. Do you like a fast-paced life-style? Can you think on your feet? Can you make split-second decisions? If You may want to invest in a career as an energy trader.
Energy traders buy and sell both physical and/or financial energy products to optimize a company’s financial returns. They review and analyze energy markets to understand current supply and demand, logistics, and quality differential trends and combine it with factors such as weather and political environment to manage storage volumes and identify opportunities to take advantage of market prices. They also provide hedging strategies and execute a strategy for production working with company energy marketing departments.
Energy traders must keep an eye on multiple factors and be able to quickly make decisions to take advantage of an opportunity to get the best price and making a profit for their company. Traders analyze data to identify trends, gaps and or logistical shorts in the market.
They interact with internal and external clients, other colleagues on trading teams and/or commodity vendors. Energy traders use computer software programs and other analytical tools, such as meteorological data, to help determine which way energy prices might be headed.
I'm interested in a career in
- Sub-sector Pipelines, Oil sands
- Environment Primarily indoor/office work
- Average Salary $79,000 to $152,000
- Education Post-secondary degree
- Career Demand Stable
In this occupation activities may include:
- Analyzing current supply and demand, logistics and other factors. Applying this information to manage storage volumes to take advantage of market opportunities
- Providing daily quantitative and fundamental analysis of gas markets, locations, transport, storage, weather, etc.
- Formulating and/or validating daily forward curves for applicable markets and load curves
- Evaluating and monitoring all trading activity and communications
- Generating incremental revenues via various strategies including transport optimization, cross-commodity, cross-market, time-spread strategies
Education
- This occupation requires an undergraduate degree. Most traders have a finance, business, economics or mathematics background. Energy Traders typically need five years’ experience in financial trading, analytics and supply chain logistics/pipeline schedulers. Experience in these areas is critical to being able to identify financial opportunities. The ability to quickly assess all information, foresee financial opportunities and be willing to make decisions are critical to success in this role.
Certifications
- Specific health and safety certifications will be determined by job requirements
- While there is no industry standard certification for this occupation, working towards a CFA or related Master’s degree may be considered desirable by some employers
Additional Requirements
- Typically, five years of industry experience in supply chain logistics, analytics or pipeline scheduling is required. Experience in financial trading can also be a route into this occupation.
- The key to this position is the ability to quickly analyze information and see/project where the opportunity is.
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to oil and natural gas include:
- Minimal or no travel
- Primarily indoor/office work
- Work not physically demanding
You have excellent math skills, and an analytical mind. You can solve complex problems quickly and in stressful environments.
- Economics and accounting
- Mathematics
- Sales and marketing
- Critical thinking
- Judgment and decision making
- Active listening
- Negotiation
- Administration and management
- Risk taker
- Transportation
