The oil trading giant, which has amassed huge profits over the past two years, is rushing to buy refineries that are being sold by the largest international oil and gas producers as part of a strategic portfolio restructuring.
“Traders see an opportunity to finally get a plant that can process a range of crudes,” said Kurt Chapman, a director at trader Revmet and former head of crude oil at Mercuria Energy Group. Bloomberg.
Commodity traders thus gain direct access to send some of the crude they sell to refineries, and can become bigger players in the crude options and futures markets to hedge their exposure to physical crude, according to Bloomberg.
In recent months, the largest independent oil trading company has formed consortia with other companies to acquire several refineries from major oil companies around the world.
Vitol Group, the largest independent oil trader, last year The contract was signed An agreement is reached with the Moratti family to acquire a 35% stake in the Italian Saras refinery.
Vitol has also made a bid for the parent company of oil refinery Citgo Petroleum in an ongoing court-ordered auction, Bloomberg reported. report In June, citing a source familiar with the matter, he said:
Trafigura, another major trader, said in April that Rhone Energy, a consortium with Entara LLC, had bought the crude. Exclusive Negotiations It will acquire the Fos-sur-Mer refinery and the Toulouse and Villette-de-Vienne terminals from ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary Esso.
“The refinery will continue to make an important contribution to energy security in the region and benefit from Trafigura’s global trading and logistics network,” said Ben Lackcock, global head of oil at Trafigura.
Glencore has also been named to a list of the largest oil traders to buy refineries from major oil companies. In May, Shell Sale Agreement The company sold its Singapore refining and chemicals business to CAPGC Pte Ltd., a joint venture between Chandra Asri Capital Pte Ltd. and Glencore Asian Holdings Pte Ltd.
According to consultancy Oliver Wyman, the commodity trading industry now has the means to strategically reinvest in long-term trades and strategic decisions. One successful way to reinvest profit surges is through investment in assets, “where traders have greater choice and influence over the instruments they trade,” Oliver Wyman said. report Earlier this year.
Article by Tsvetana Paraskova from Oilprice.com
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