Our focus is on collaboration
At Structure, we view our clients as our partners. We listen to their specific needs and then provide our services and software in a consistent yet flexible solutions model that maximizes their success in energy markets that are continually changing. Energy trading and risk management, human performance, business process, asset management, solution integration, market readiness/impact assessments, market entry assessment – these are all areas where we focus our considerable energy industry expertise.
Structure's nMarket® gas
Building on the success of Structure nMarket® for power, the leading transaction management system for North American wholesale power markets, Structure nMarket® Gas is the first packaged software product that is preconfigured to comply with specific pipeline transaction standards. Structure nMarket for gas offers out-of-the-box pipeline integration for nominations, scheduled quantities, and allocation/balancing statements.
Partnering with one of the largest gas traders in North
America, Structure pretests all NAESB transactions sets and proprietary transactions in real-world environments for all supported pipelines. As a result, Structure nMarket customers only have to test connectivity rather than the transactions themselves.
Structure nMarket allows you to standardize on a single nomination management platform across multiple pipelines. Structure nMarket provides the electronic capabilities for gas marketers to connect with interstate and intrastate pipelines to communicate nomination, scheduling and invoicing transactions. The Structure nMarket suite includes the tools to manage transactions, communicate with pipelines and calculate shadow settlements, whether you nominate with the pipeline through EDI, spreadsheet, by fax, email or via electronic bulletin boards.
Bid week pipeline operations status
During Bid Week, the trader and scheduler utilize the Notifications Monitor to receive an up-to-date status on pipeline operations for their critical pipelines. This status enables the trader and scheduler to make transportation decisions around the operational constraints of the pipelines.
Real-time, straight through processing provides timely nominations
As the deals are nailed down and the transportation nominations are entered, Structure nMarket receives the transport nominations from the deal or scheduling system through seamless integration via standard APIs. Structure nMarket takes control to transform the data values and format the data to the requirements of the destination pipeline. Structure nMarket sends the nominations to the pipeline, monitors the status of the communication and provides the results back to the legacy system. All of this is accomplished in real time, straight-through processing to give the scheduler the most flexibility within the nomination deadline.
Updated pipeline communication through entire nomination lifecycle
Throughout the month and throughout the day, a scheduler's nominations on a pipeline have to be changed to accommodate business changes and those changes brought about by confirmations. Structure nMarket stays with the scheduler through all of these changes and continues to format and communicate the information to the pipeline. In addition, Structure nMarket provides views so the scheduler can see all of the distinct changes made to nominations throughout their life cycle including the latest value applied to the nomination for nominated quantity and scheduled quantity.
Better monitoring of pipeline positions and expense accrual
At the end of the gas day, the pipeline provides a final-scheduled-quantity statement to Structure nMarket. This scheduled quantity becomes the best-available-quantity on that pipeline until estimates of actual flow are available.
After the gas has begun to flow during the month,Structure nMarket continues to import statements from pipelines, giving a continually improved best-available-quantity for the scheduler to use in monitoring pipeline position. This same information is also used to calculate shadow estimates of the settlement expenses that will be due on the pipeline. This shadow settlement process has been successful in assisting Structure nMarket clients to monitor their expenses during the month, support daily mark-to-
market and transport expense accrual.
Notification monitoring throughout the month
As the month progresses, Structure nMarket continues to add value to the scheduler's and trader's daily operations by providing Notifications monitoring of all the subscribed pipelines and continuing to provide nominations to the pipelines. When pipelines provide estimated allocations during the month (through Imbalance statements and/ or Allocation statements), Structure nMarket uses those estimates to update the best-available-quantity used in shadow settlements. All of these tools work together to provide better posi-
tion management for the scheduler and trader.
More accurate end-of-month settlements, superior reporting and analysis
At the end of the month, the pipeline provides an invoice to the shipper to inform them of their final expenses for the production month. This invoice is imported into Structure nMarket and can be compared to the expected expenses that were run for shadow settlements. The calculated shadow settlements or the pipeline invoice can be selected for actualization and payment to the pipeline.
With Structure nMarket's seamless integration and robust, logical data models, reporting and analysis are made easy. All Structure nMarket calculations and volumes as well as transaction data can be retrieved to build reports for pre-trade or post-trade strategy analysis.
Structure nMarket's standard APIs make integrating with traditional trading and scheduling packages or custom applications simple. The XML-based architecture can be mapped to any database, API or spreadsheet. Nominations can be integrated at the deal or schedule level – Structure nMarket does all the work to get the data in the appropriate format for each model type. Outbound APIs provide multiple levels for quantities and expense amounts to feed into billing systems to facilitate counterparty settlement.
Quality support available from structure's development center
Structure maintains a support desk in our Houston software development center. Our professionals, who have market-specific knowledge of the products, answer help-desk calls during business hours and handle most requests within a 24-hour period. After-hours support is available on a contract basis.
Client support web site provides on-line access to technical information and software downloads
Structure maintains a client support Web site that serves as a central repository for product-related information and technical specifications, a mechanism for downloading software releases and access to client status report information.
Training enables clients to take full advantage of product functionality
Structure offers a broad array of training services both for clients and on behalf of our clients. Such training includes product-specific training, market readiness training and market concept training. Training classes are offered at our Houston office or at the client site. Training programs are typically one or two-day sessions. This training allows Structure to proactively assure that our clients understand market changes, understand how these changes affect our products and services, and how they can best leverage our products and services.
Structure consulting services
Our in-depth experience in energy transaction management, trading and risk management; asset management, technology deployment, integration and training gives Structure an edge as a leader in consulting services for both market/pipeline operators and participants in competitive energy markets. We apply a consistent yet flexible set of consulting standards to address each business challenge through assessment, analysis, requirement definition, planning, documentation, simulation, forecasting, communication, training and management. Systems, processes and people are all studied and optimized as part of Structure's consulting program. Structure's business solution suite includes full-fledged program management to smaller-scale implementation and integration projects – all documented and reusable for similar projects within the same business. Our repeat engagements at so many clients are a testament to our professionalism and commitment to success.
Structure Consulting Services Optimize:
• Wholesale energy trading and risk management
• Energy market readiness
• Communication and collaboration with business partners
• Business processes
• Human performance
• Asset management
• Software application evaluation and selection
• Technology solution integration
• Project management
• Retail market participation and revenue management