Energy derivatives brokerage services company Optionable Inc. said Friday that it is introducing seven new swap contracts on its OPEX platform, a real-time electronic trade-matching and brokerage system that has been certified to connect with the New York Mercantile Exchange’s (Nymex) ClearPort clearing platform.

“We believe that the addition of the swap contracts is a logical extension and outgrowth of our trading services business,” said Edward O’Connor, president of Optionable. “We are continuously executing our strategy and diversifying our product line to help our clients maximize the opportunities in the market. By adding the swaps contracts to our platform, it will allow our customers a wider variety of trading products and provide greater volume of trading.”

The company said that the swaps contracts that can be traded through the Nymex ClearPort clearing system are Henry Hub Natural Gas Swap, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil Calendar Swap, WTI Bullet Swap (crude oil), New York Harbor Heating Oil Calendar Swap, Heating Oil Financial Futures, RBOB Bullet Swap (reformulated gasoline), and RBOB Calendar Swap (reformulated gasoline).

“The response to OPEX continues to be quite strong and we expect that the addition of the swaps contracts will further spur demand to trade through our OPEX platform,” O’Connor added. Unveiled in July 2006, OPEX was designed under the premise of improving liquidity and transparency in the energy derivatives market (see Daily GPI, July 19, 2006).

Valhalla, NY-based Optionable provides its services to brokerage firms, financial institutions, energy traders and hedge funds across the United States. In January, Nymex Holdings Inc., parent company of Nymex, announced that it will purchase a 19% stake in Optionable from its three founding stockholders as a way to expand its options business through acquisition (see Daily GPI, Jan. 23). In addition to the acquisition, the transaction included certain cooperative technology initiatives and the issuance to Nymex of a warrant, which would permit it to increase its stake.

©Copyright 2007Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.