The glossary of terms is arranged alphabetically. Click on the
letters below to find terms beginning with that letter.
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Short or Short Position: 1) The market position
of a futures contract seller whose sale obligates him/her to
deliver the commodity unless he/she liquidates his/her contract
by an off setting purchase. 2) A trade whose net position in the
futures market shows an excess of open sales over open
purchases. 3) The holder of a short position. 4) In the options
market, the position of the seller of a call or a put option,
who is obliged to take a futures position if he/she is assigned
for exercise.
Shoulder Months: Normally defined as spring and
fall months when gas demand is lowest.
Spot Market: A market characterized by
short-term, typically interruptible or best efforts contracts
for specified volumes of gas. The bulk of the natural gas spot
market trades on a monthly basis.
Spot Month: The futures contract closest to
maturity. The nearby delivery month.
Standby Service: A service that involves a
pipeline or LDC guaranteeing to fill in with gas supplies in the
event a transportation customer's other supplies are inadequate
or not available.
Storage: Facilities used to store gas that has
been transferred from its original location. Usually consists of
natural geological reservoirs like depleted oil or gas fields,
water-bearing sands sealed on top by impermeable cap rock,
underground salt domes or bedded salt formations.
Stranded Costs: Costs associated with certain
pipeline assets (like system gas in storage fields and capacity
on upstream pipelines) that can no longer be assigned to
customers under the reorganization of services mandated by Order
636.
Swing Supply: Gas volumes taken as needed,
generally to meet peaking demand above a user's base load gas
supply.