Natural gas accounts for almost a quarter of energy consumption in the U.S., and the CME Group Natural Gas (Henry Hub) futures contract is widely used as a national benchmark price. CME Group is the largest, most diverse financial exchange in the world for trading futures and options for both individual and institutional traders. Formed by the 2007 merger of the Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange; followed by the 2008 acquisition of New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). The exchange where the natural gas futures and options and other energy futures are traded.

Here’s some basic information you should know about CME Group and SEMI.

The futures contract trades in units of 10,000 million British thermal units (MMBTU) each day on the CME Group exchange. The price is based on delivery at the Henry Hub in Louisiana, the nexus of 16 intrastate and interstate natural gas pipeline systems that draw supplies from the region's gas deposits. These pipelines serve markets throughout the East Coast, Gulf Coast and Midwest and up to the Canadian border. (An options contract provides additional risk management opportunities.)

• You can lock in a fixed price for natural gas for any single month or term by contacting an account manager at SEMI.
• You’ll be quoted the current market price for the specified month or term.
• A contract will be executed and confirmed based on the specified volume.
• Other financial derivatives are available.
• We do not require you to lock in full contracts of 10,000 MMBTUs and can provide guidance in determining volume based upon your company’s historical consumption patterns.
• If a futures contract is not executed in any given month, you have the option of choosing from a variety of published indexes for your natural gas supply. This is typically determined by the delivery path and delivery points along the interstate pipelines.