European gas TSOs: one pipeline to transport them all

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Gas Transmission System Operators (TSOs) have important roles to play in the low-carbon transition. While today they are responsible for storage and transportation of one of the world’s top fossil fuels, they could help with the distribution of cleaner energy sources tomorrow.

Green and Sustainability-Linked Bonds (SLBs) issued by these companies help supply them with the capital they need to transition, while keeping them accountable to their own sustainability goals.

We analyse debt issuances from two European TSOs – Italian Snam and dutch Gasunie – so that investors can better understand relative-value pricing within the bond curves.

Snam’s older SLBs are linked to a more ambitious target than its recently issued bonds, and they do trade at a tighter spread implying these target may be missed.

Gasunie’s shorter-dated SLB seems to be pricing in some option value, perhaps driven by recent reporting that one KPI is off-track. Despite strong book size for its green bonds, the 33s seem to trade wider than the SLB maturing in 2034.

More generally, we note neither company currently reports the emissions of its transported gas. By not reporting these emissions, it is hard for investors to monitor the full decarbonisation of the TSO sector.