Day 1, Thursday

8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Registration/Continental Breakfast

9:00 – 9:15 a.m. Instructor Introduction/Review of Goals Meet our instructor, Elaine Levin, a veteran at creating and implementing fuel hedging programs. She’ll review what you can expect to learn over the next two days.

9:15 – 10:00 a.m. Risk Management 101: What is Your Risk?  Identifying the risks and opportunities that arise from price volatility is the first step in developing a hedging program. In this session, we’ll cover:

• The importance of a hedging plan as part of your overall fuel buying program.
• What is your price risk?
• How managing price risk can present opportunities for your business.
• The risks and challenges unique to gasoline retailers or diesel fuel marketers.
• Speculating v. hedging – we’ll explain why not hedging can be speculating.
• Definitions of futures, forwards, options, and swaps.
• What a physical market is, and how it differs from a futures market.

10:00 – 10:30 a.m. What is a Futures Contract?  Before you can begin to set up your own hedging program, you’ll need to understand futures contracts and how they work. In this session, we’ll explain:

• The NYMEX: what it is, and why it’s so important.
• Who buys and who sells futures contracts?
• How to determine if you are a long or short hedger.
• The costs and cash flows of trading futures contracts.
• Types of orders
• The entire process of placing a futures order from start to finish.

10:30 – 10:45 a.m. Refreshment Break

10:45 – 12:30 p.m. What is a Futures Contract? (Continued)  

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Networking Luncheon

1:30 – 1:45 p.m. Concept Quiz 1 Think you understand it all so far? Let’s make sure you do with a brief quiz.

1:45 – 2:15 p.m. How Companies Use Futures Now that you have a basic understanding of a futures contract, let’s delve a little deeper. Listen as we detail:

• What your company needs to do to get started with a hedging program.
• A step-by-step walkthrough of how money flows through a hedge transaction.
• Real world examples of how buyers and sellers of petroleum use basic futures contracts to hedge their profit margins and grow their businesses.
• Mark-to-Market – tying the hedges to the physicals

2:15 – 3:00 p.m. Futures Spreads & Seasonality Futures markets simultaneously trade contracts with a variety of expiration dates. Professional traders are constantly watching the relationship between futures months. Learn why you should too.

• What does it mean if a market is in contango or backwardation.
• An explanation of how the futures curve impacts supply 
• How the refining cycle impacts your business and your profits.
• The seasonality of energy futures

3:00 – 3:15 p.m. Refreshment Break

3:15 – 4:30 p.m. The Basics of Basis Basis is the connection of the futures transaction to your local buying or selling. In this session, our veteran instructor will explain to you in clear and simple language:

• Basis and its relationship to supply and demand in your local market.
• How changing basis can impact the outcome of the hedge.
• Interpreting how your local physical fuel market relates to the NYMEX.
• How understanding historical basis trends can make you a more informed physical fuel buyer.

4:30 – 4:45 p.m. Concept Quiz 2 Make sure you understand the concepts we learned today with another quiz.

5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Networking Cocktail Reception

Day 2, Friday

8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast

9:00 – 10:15 a.m. Options Workshop: The World Beyond the Basic Futures Contract Hedgers also need to understand how options work – it’s the next step after basic futures contracts. Options are used to create capped price programs and strategies such as “no-cost collars”.  We’ll explain:

• A simple explanation of what an option is.
• Puts and calls – what they are and how they differ.
• How to create and market a cap program.
• Average price options – how they work for the ratable fuel buyer.

10:15 – 10:30 a.m. Concept Quiz 3 Let’s make sure you understand options.

10:30 – 10:45 a.m. Refreshment Break

10:45 – 11:15 a.m. Managing Retail Profit Margins at the Pump Through Spreads Gasoline retailers can find their margins caught between a rock and a hard place. Refiners raise prices but consumers resist, squeezing the retailer’s margin. This session digs into that problem and suggests some solutions:

• How retailers have successfully protected profits from the squeeze of higher rack prices.
• How to maintain volume despite rising prices.
• When retail profit margins are most at risk.

11:15 – 11:45 p.m. Hedging Propane Propane trades differently than other energy contracts like diesel or gasoline. We’ll demystify how NGL future trade along with:

• What are block trades and ClearPort
• How to use a knowledge of the futures price to your advantage
• Bonus: other markets that trade similarly include petroleum basis contracts

11:45 – 12:15 p.m. Working Luncheon

12:15 – 12:45 p.m. How Swaps and Swaptions Fit Into a Hedging Program What if you have a specific volume you need to hedge. Swaps can be a valuable tool for hedgers, but understanding how they work is critical.

• The difference between the futures and over-the-counter markets
• Why understanding counterparty risk is so important
• How companies use swaps to grow their business

12:45 – 1:45 p.m. The Basics of Fundamental and Technical Analysis in Today’s Market  No one hedges in a vacuum. Understanding the basics of supply and demand is important, but not the only thing. In this session, Elaine will explain:

• Fundamental analysis – what’s happening in today’s oil markets, including both short term and long term assessments?
• EIA data – what to watch each week.
• The connection between financial and oil markets, and how that affects you.
• Behavioral finance and technical analysis– why you need to watch the direction of the herd.

1:45 – 2:30 p.m. Group Case Study: Creating a Successful Hedging Strategy We’ve covered the basics. Now it’s time to put what you have learned into practice. Our instructor will present a scenario to the class that outlines a fuel business and the market conditions under which it is trying to manage risk.  We’ll break the class into groups, and discuss:

• What price risk does this business face?
• What risk management strategies would you use, and why?
• Finally, our instructor will analyze all the decisions and rationales the groups make. What worked, what didn’t, and why?

2:30 p.m. Final Q & A/Conference Adjourns

“The depth and variety of topics that we covered were awesome! I felt that it was both beginner friendly without being too slow of a seminar. I love the energy of Elaine speaking! I will definitely recommend to fellow colleagues.”

Natalie Kouyoumjian, Supply Manager,
Artin Service Stations, Inc

“As much as you think you know, it’s always good to take a refresher course with an EXPERT! I’ve been involved in hedging some of our Price Protection Programs for 40 years and didn’t realize the depth and possibilities.”

Raymond A. Hart, Pres. & CEO  
Hart Home Comfort – Hart Petroleum

“The Powerhouse hedging class is essential for both a newbie or a veteran in the industry. It gave me the foundation to help run my business in a smarter and more long-term manner.”

Nicholas  D’Addario, GM
Hi Ho Petroleum

“Our company never had a cap program. After talking with Elaine and taking the class we are now equipped to roll out a price protection plan.”

Gary Singer, COO
Big O Fuels

“Powerhouse had an information filled class that broke down complex problems in an easy-to-learn manner.”

Dakota Plasterer, Accounting Specialist
Lassus Bros. Oil

Elaine Levin, President of Powerhouse is your instructor. She is a dynamic and well-respected energy broker and hedge advisor. You’ll get hands-on risk management training from someone who lives and breathes this market day in and day out. Elaine has successfully managed the books of some of the industry’s largest fuel buyers. Benefit from her impressive career helping companies control costs by hearing her plain language explanation of exactly how to take advantage of today’s risk management tools.

The Hotel:

Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue
721 Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701
402-951-6552

Discounted Room rate: $259 (Register Today — a limited number of rooms are available at this rate; and this rate is only available until Oct 31, 2024).

To make your reservations, please click here, or call 402-951-6552

If you need additional assistance, please contact Hyatt at 877-803-7534 or click here to find Hyatt contact information by region.

If the group rate is no longer available, prevailing rates may be offered for some or all of your dates

If you are unable to attend, you are welcome to send a substitute. Otherwise, you can cancel in writing by October 31, 2024 to get a partial refund of class registration by emailing ⁠registrar@powerhousetl.com⁠. After that time, there is a no refund at cancellation. Registrants who do not cancel or do not attend are liable for the full fee.