Certification of Natural Gas & Power Industry Expertise
A candidate must demonstrate to Mennta Energy Solutions that they have earned the Certification of Natural Gas & Power Industry Expertise through successful completion of 15 online courses and one comprehensive final written exam.
The learning objectives of the 11 mandatory courses and 4 electives will combine to develop a strong foundational knowledge of the natural gas and power industries in order to successfully write the final exam.
| 11 MANDATORY COURSES |
Overview of the Natural Gas Industry
- Point out natural gas’ unique characteristics
- Distinguish all components of the natural gas supply chain
- Identify what valuable products are stripped from the raw gas stream
- Match storage facilities with specific customer requirements
- Distinguish between the distinct roles of the various gas market participants
- Distinguish the differences between natural gas hedging and trading
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Overview of the Gas Value Chain
- Recognize the main value creation steps in the natural gas industry and its trends
- Recognize the characteristics and qualities of natural gas
- Distinguish between the resources yielding natural gas
- Point out how transport and storage create value
- Distinguish between the different gas trading markets and the instruments used
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Overview of the Shale Gas Market
- Identify the definition of shale gas and list where reserves are located, and how much shale gas is being produced
- Identify the processes of evolution of shale gas development and how production volumes have increased
- Identify the major producing US shale fields and identify their unique characteristics
- Distinguish shale gas drilling operations, techniques, costs and production decline rates
- Identify the challenges to greater shale gas development and international opportunities in Europe and Asia
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Gas Markets and Deregulation
- Recognize the key elements of gas market deregulation and the terminology used to describe them
- Distinguish between various different approaches to gas pricing in regulated and deregulated markets
- Identify the possible stages of liberalization through which a gas market may pass
- Point out the history of deregulation in the US natural gas market and the European Union gas markets
- Recognize global progress in gas market deregulation and the state of liberalization in selected key gas markets around the world
- Identify how trading develops in liberalized gas markets, and which factors can help or hinder the development of active trading markets
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Overview of the Global LNG Market
- Distinguish between LNG’s unique characteristics, its basic composition and how and how it is produced
- Identify the processes of locating and producing commercially viable quantities of natural gas
- Point out how natural gas is turned into a liquid state, turned back into its gaseous state and distributed via natural gas pipelines
- Identify the use of specialized vessels to transport LNG
- Recognize the operations and mechanics behind the pricing and selling of LNG and the process of supplying natural gas to end users
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The Emerging US LNG Export Marketplace
- Identify the drivers behind US LNG exports
- Point out the regulatory and permitting processes
- Recognize the development plans for US export terminals
- Identify global LNG market fundamentals
- Select LNG pricing mechanisms
- Identify arbitrage and supply opportunities
- Identify competing LNG export projects
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Introduction to the Power Industry
- Distinguish between the physical basis of electricity generation and transmission
- Identify some key figures and events in the development of the electric power industry
- Identify the main types of generation plant and their characteristics
- Distinguish between the main components of a conventional thermal power plant and understand their roles
- Recognize the principles and aims of electricity market liberalization
- Select the major types of participant in the markets and their roles
- Identify the basic principles of electricity market design and be aware of the range of different models in use
- Distinguish the main types of trading activity and traded instruments in electricity markets
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Power Trading in Europe
- Identify the different motivations for trading
- Select the fundamentals of the power market and the key drivers of electricity prices
- Recognize how liberalization has changed the power industry in Europe
- Identify the various types of power instruments traded
- Identify the major power trading markets in Europe, including power exchanges
- Point out the outlook for the European power trading market
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European Power Markets and Infrastructure
- Recognize the structure of the power industry in Europe, and how regulation is changing this structure
- Identify the different fuels used for power generation, and the factors affecting the generation mix in Europe
- Identify the various types of power demand and the consumption trends in Europe
- Point out how electricity is transmitted across Europe, including key power flows
- Recognize the outlook for the European power market, including the likely impact of environmental legislation
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North American Power Markets
- Identify the historical origins of the US and Canadian power markets
- Recognize the monopoly structure in the North American power markets
- Point out key legislative, policy and regulatory initiatives which shaped the early power industry
- Choose the drivers for the creation of competitive markets
- Identify the types of generation in North American power industry
- Identify how the transmission system developed and how the interconnected grid in North America functions
- Identify which financial markets exist for the mitigation of financial risk in the competitive marketplace
- Recognize how the exchange traded futures markets and clearing play a unique role in the management of risk
- Identify how regional hubs developed and to describe key characteristics of major hubs
- Point out how the Smart Grid will transform the North American transmission grid
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Natural Gas in a Decarbonizing World
- Point out the advantages and disadvantages of natural gas compared to other energy sources in a low-carbon energy policy environment
- Identify how existing natural gas storage and transmission infrastructure could be repurposed to handle non-fossil-fuel energy
- Select the key reasons why natural gas is preferable to other fossil fuels in a decarbonizing world
- Recognize the potential of natural gas to complement renewable power generation
- Distinguish between possible applications of natural gas in road transportation
- Identify the drivers behind the adoption of natural gas as a shipping fuel
- Distinguish between biogas and biomethane, and identify how they are produced
- Identify how wind and solar energy could be used to create combustible gases, and why this would be of benefit
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4 ELECTIVE COURSES
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Certification of Natural Gas Industry Expertise Requirements and Application
- 11 mandatory online courses
- 4 elective online courses
- Course length must be two-hours
- Mandatory courses cannot be repeated as an elective
- A comprehensive final written exam will be administered after all online courses are completed.
- Must be completed within 3 months
- Must receive a 75% to pass final written exam
- All final exams must be submitted in English
- Each online course is:
- Approximately two-hours in length
- Complete with practice exercises, quizzes and a final exam
- All 15 online courses must be successfully completed with at least an 80% on each final exam
- If any exam is failed, you are entitled to take the course again for a re-examination fee of $100. Final written exam cannot be re-taken.
- All online courses must be successfully completed within 12-months of commencing the programme
- Comprehensive Payment Plan
- 2995 USD
- 1995 GBP (+VAT for UK based candidates)
- Flexible Payment Plan
- Candidates are welcome to purchase the above courses on www.menntalive.com on an individual basis to work towards the certificate and avoid the upfront payment
- All courses still must be completed within 12-months of commencing the first course
- Upon completion of the course curriculum, candidates will be subject to a 550USD or 400GBP (+VAT if UK based) examination fee to finish the certificate
- Please note the Comprehensive Payment Plan provides saving of over 700USD or 575GBP!
