MET Gas and Energy Marketing (MET GEM), celebrating its 10th anniversary, has been supporting Southeastern European non-EU countries on their way to become fully integrated members of the European energy markets. CEO Attila Szaniszló explains what the key to success is in a turbulent energy market environment.
Everything started in 2014. The Ukrainian market suddenly opened, and it became possible to sell natural gas there also for companies from abroad, but European energy firms were not sure how safe this business was.
That’s when MET Group decided to establish MET GEM as a Swiss-based company in the Canton of Zug, focusing on growing non-EU markets. At that time, MET already had subsidiaries in Ukraine’s neighbouring countries Hungary and Romania, as well as in Serbia and Croatia – and two years later, in July 2016 MET Ukraine was founded.
“10 years ago, MET GEM was established to represent MET Group in Southeastern European energy markets. We believe that we can offer valuable solutions to the needs of our partners in the region, thanks to our flexible product design and our access to international energy markets,” says Attila Szaniszló, CEO of MET GEM.
At present, Ukraine, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina belong to MET GEM. In a nutshell, MET GEM focuses on market development in emerging natural gas markets via cross-border transactions where it can provide flexible non-standard products, as well as potential subsidiary establishments.
One of MET GEM’s strengths is being a trusted partner of state-owned, incumbent companies in Ukraine and Serbia. “Building up strong relationships with these market players is a long process taking several years, and we need to fulfil all their flexible requirements within a transparent and competitive process,” adds Attila Szaniszló.
In Southeastern European non-EU countries, challenges vary from one place to the other. In Ukraine, unfortunately, the war has been going on for years. In Serbia, the market is totally closed. “These countries have regulatory environments with totally different logics. The markets are also organised and structured in a different way,” explains the CEO what distinguishes MET GEM states from other European markets.
The MET GEM team, consisting of experienced market experts located in the single countries, seeks to understand local needs and then provide tailor-made solutions. “We have been successful in a turbulent market environment, providing stable supply to all our partners, supporting them in strengthening their security of supply,” stresses Attila Szaniszló. Even in these difficult circumstances, MET GEM has been able to find the way to maintain profitable operations.
Another important objective is to influence market practices, putting a special emphasis on innovation and digitalisation. “We strongly believe that, sooner or later, these markets will be fully integrated with all required terms and conditions to the European energy markets,” concludes the CEO. MET GEM will continue to support them on their way.