Overview
If you are looking for a detailed description of Round 4, which begins on November 23, 2023, please check this article: What is the timeline of the Tendering Round 4?
On AggregateEU, the tender is the process whereby gas demand is collected, aggregated and ultimately matched to sell bids in a tender. Each tender process happens in successive phases and lasts roughly two weeks.
There are two types of tender in which you can submit your demand: short-term tenders and mid-term tenders. In the former, you submit demands for calendar months in the near future. In the latter, you submit demands for six-month periods - e.g. Summer 2024.
To participate in the tender process, you must: (1) register on the PRISMA Platform, and (2) subscribe to the AggregateEU Service. For further instructions on how to do so, please check these articles: Registration and Subscription.
Furthermore, participation in a tender does not bind or entitle you to purchase gas. This process is non-binding and all contracts must be negotiated and concluded outside the platform.
Phases of a Tender
In general, the tender process can be subdivided into six phases:
1. Demand Collection: buyers can submit their demands for specific locations and periods of time. Only one demand is allowed per location, unless the buyer is the leader of a consortium. In short-term tenders, you can submit two months in advance (m+2), whereas in mid-term tenders the earliest possible period will likely be Summer 2024 (April 1st - September 30th).
2. Demand Evaluation: after all demands are collected, they will be thoroughly analyzed to identify potential abuses of the process and remove them from demand aggregation.
3. Demand Review: once the analysis is concluded, a Demand Aggregation Info Sheet will be published. In short-term tenders, the total demand of all buyers will be aggregated for each location and calendar month. In mid-term tenders, the demand will not be aggregated and, instead, the demand from each buyer will be published as a separate, pseudonymous tender. You can then evaluate whether you want to proceed to the tendering and matching phases or decline to do so.
4. Offer Submission: based on the aggregated demand, tenders will be created and published to buyers and sellers. Sellers can then submit supply offers with their indicative prices at different locations. However, a company cannot act as a buyer and a seller in the same tender.
5. Offer Matching: demands are then matched to offers on a pro-rata basis irrespective of the expiration date of the indicative price.
6. Matching Publication: finally, the results of the matching process are published. In short-term tenders, both buyers and sellers will receive suitable matches, which will include the following details: (1) gas amount, (2) average price and (3) relevant contact data of buyers and sellers. In mid-term tenders, only buyers will receive the contact details of sellers who have expressed their interest in selling gas to them for a particular six-month period.
7. Contract Negotiation: this phase takes place outside the AggregateEU platform. Based on the matching results, participants can negotiate and conclude contracts to acquire gas at specific locations and in specific months. Companies can seek to facilitate negotiation and contract conclusion by contracting with Central Buyer or Agent.
8. Transparency Report: after a contract is concluded outside the platform, you must enter the details of this contract on AggregateEU for the sake of transparency.