Energy Trader News

The already endangered African penguin is being driven away from its natural habitat off the east coast of South Africa due to noise from ship refueling, a scientific study has found.The number of African penguins on St Croix island in Algoa Bay, once the world's largest breeding colony of the birds, has plummeted since South Africa started to allow ships in the area to refuel at sea, a process known as bunkering, six years ago, the study found.Situated in a busy shipping lane along South Africa's east coast…

Global energy trader Gunvor Group reported a net profit of $726 million for 2021, the highest since 2015, buoyed by its natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) divisions, the company said on Tuesday.The profit was the highest since 2015 when net profit was boosted by the sale of most of its Russian assets and was up on the $320 million the Geneva-based company made in 2020 when refining impairments took the shine off its record gross profit.Gunvor's rivals have seen record profits on higher oil volatility and skyrocketing natural gas prices in the second half of 2021.

Global energy trader Vitol Group made a record net profit of just over $4 billion last year, sources familiar with the matter said, as oil, natural gas and other commodity prices soared.Vitol, the world's biggest independent oil trader, declined to comment.The unaudited result beats its previous record net profit in 2020, when oil markets were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. Bloomberg reported Vitol made $3.2 billion in 2020. The company does not disclose its net profit.Last week, Vitol said revenues leapt to $279 billion in 2021 as oil prices recovered from 2020 lows.

PTL Marine announced the recent hiring of Steven Taylor as its Manager of Business Development with responsibility for the California markets. With operations in major ports including Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, the company has continued growing its network along the U.S. West Coast. Taylor will be based in Southern California where the company services the Marine and C&I industries with fuels, lubricants, chemicals and last-mile logistics solutions.“With more than 75 years of experience in California through the legacy brands General Petroleum and Maxum Petroleum…

Oman's state-owned transport group Asyad is weighing the sale of a strategic stake in its subsidiary Oman Shipping Company (OSC), three sources familiar with the matter said.Asyad has asked banks to pitch for a mandate to help it review a potential deal in which Asyad could divest up to 40% of its ownership, said two sources, who declined to be named as the matter was not public.Asyad, owned by the Oman Investment Authority, the country's sovereign fund, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. Oman Shipping Company also did not respond to a request for comment.OSC focuses on transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes to the international market…

Energy trader Gunvor Group aims to cut its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 40% in absolute terms by 2025, the company said on Tuesday, and has set up a new subsidiary to invest in non-hydrocarbon projects.The Geneva-based firm, which is among the top five global oil traders, aims to cut emissions it produces directly, and those from the electricity it uses, against its 2019 total of 1.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.Its new unit will invest in biofuel, renewable power projects such as solar and biomass…

Brazilian oil giant Petrobras will concentrate its European commercial activities in Rotterdam. This will result in the transfer of Petrobras Europe Ltd.’s commercial activities from London, England to Petrobras Global Trading B.V. in Rotterdam. The change will start in the next quarter and must be completed by the second half of 2021.The focus on Rotterdam is in line with the Petrobras policy of rationalizing its international presence in 2021, taking into account the world’s three major oil markets: Europe, North America and Asia.

Energy trader Gunvor Group has bought a minority stake in Artemis Technologies to build high-speed ferries capable of carrying up to 350 passengers with zero emissions, the company said on Thursday.The new vessel, called the Artemis eFoiler, will produce savings of up to 90% on fuel compared with traditional diesel ferries. The British firm received a £33 million grant from the British government earlier this year.The hydrofoils will run on batteries recharged by renewable energy sources.

Energy trader Gunvor Group returned to profit in 2019 after its first net loss a year earlier, helped by record earnings in its U.S. division, and said business so far in 2020 remained strong.The Geneva-based firm, which reported a 2019 net profit of $381 million after a loss of $330 million in 2018, said on Tuesday it was also helped last year by earnings from gas trading and its European refining business.But the group, one of the world's top five oil traders, said revenue dipped to $75 billion in 2019 from $87 billion in 2018.Gunvor, which launched its U.S.

A Russian gas tanker that is used to secure energy supplies in the west Russian enclave of Kaliningrad has arrived back in the region after being leased out to transport U.S.-produced LNG to Europe, Refinitiv Eikon data showed on Tuesday.Two energy sources told Reuters in November that energy trader Gunvor had leased the Marshal Vasilevskiy tanker from Russian state-controlled gas company Gazprom for loading an LNG cargo in the United States.That surprised the LNG shipping market because U.S. seaborne LNG is seen as a threat to Gazprom's dominance of Europe's gas market and Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the United States…

A gas tanker once hailed by President Vladimir Putin as a bulwark of Russian energy security is heading for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the United States, ship tracking data from Refinitiv's Eikon showed on Friday.The collection of an LNG cargo from the United States by a Russian tanker would be potentially awkward for Putin and Kremlin-controlled gas company Gazprom, which leased out the vessel to Austrian company OMV in August until November.Two industry sources told Reuters that energy trader Gunvor has subsequently hired the tanker for loading of an LNG cargo in the United States.OMV ended the charter of the Marshal Vasilevskiy after unloading a cargo at Netherlands' Gate port this week…

Energy trader Mercantile & Maritime Group said on Thursday it was hiring Ben Waters, previously with Trafigura, as its head of Asia-Pacific trading."We increase our presence and range of capabilities in the region to include trading, storage and blending," MM's chief executive Murtaza Lakhani said.Singapore-headquartered MM employs around 100 people across Asia, Europe and the Middle East and says it operates in frontier markets, trading oil, refined products and offering shipping and storage services. (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson)

Canadian energy company has negotiated extensions of the key deadlines under its 20-year agreement with German energy trader Uniper.These include expected commercial deliveries of  LNG gas to Uniper to start between November 30, 2024 and May 31, 2025, and the extension of the deadline to make a positive financial investment decision (FID) for the company’s proposed Goldboro LNG facility to September 30, 2020.The 20-year agreement with Uniper is for half the liquefied natural gas produced at Goldboro or 5 mmtpa (million tonnes per annum).“These extensions allow us to complete the work needed to make a final investment decision for the Goldboro Project,” said Pieridae CEO Alfred Sorensen.

Global energy trader Vitol has agreed to acquire a further 50 percent share of the global asphalt trading company VALT to integrate the asphalt trading business into the company.VALT is the bitumen joint-venture it established with Sargeant Marine in 2016.The Swiss-based company said in a press release that it would acquire the final 50 percent of the joint venture which it established with Sargeant Marine in 2016. This means, on transaction completion, Vitol will own 100 percent of VALT.The acquisition will make Vitol a leader in the trading, storage and marine transportation of asphalt products around the world, with a dedicated fleet of eleven specialised vessels.Volumes are circa 1.4 million metric tons of asphalt per annum…

Global energy trader Gunvor Group has put on hold plans to upgrade its Rotterdam refinery that intended to make the plant more competitive ahead of new global rules on shipping fuel quality, it said on Tuesday, citing market conditions.Global oil and shipping companies are looking at options to cope with the new standards that come into effect in 2020.The U.N. International Maritime Organization (IMO) will ban ships using fuel with a sulphur content higher than 0.5 percent, compared to 3.5 percent now…

Axpo, a Swiss utility and energy trader, said on Thursday it was in talks for a 10-year supply deal with a Canadian company planning to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.A sales and purchase agreement would boost the chances that Pieridae Energy would decide to build the C$10 billion ($7.6 billion) Goldboro project, which would be the first LNG export terminal on Canada's East Coast.Canada is rich in oil and gas but has yet to export major shipments of LNG to Asia from its West Coast or across the Atlantic from its East Coast."Under the term sheet with Pieridae Energy, Axpo will purchase LNG from Train 2 of the Goldboro liquefaction facility and sell it across Europe…

Energy trader Vitol and coal miner Peabody Energy are partnering with start-up Arq to turn coal waste into a low-sulphur oil product that could be an alternative fuel for shippers as new U.N. pollution rules loom, the companies said in a statement.Global oil and shipping companies are looking at any and all options to avoid becoming a casualty of the major market dislocations that the new standards will create when they come into effect in 2020.The U.N. International Maritime Organization (IMO) will ban ships using fuel with a sulphur content higher than 0.5 percent…

Norwegian oil and gas major Equinor, formerly Statoil, is acquiring the Danish energy trading company, Danske Commodities for EUR 400 million (USD 470 mln). "Equinor has reached agreement to buy 100% of the shares in Danish energy trading company Danske Commodities (DC) for EUR 400 million, with smaller contingent payments depending on DC’s performance over the next couple of years," said a press release from the company. This acquisition – of one of Europe’s largest short-term electricity traders – supports Equinor’s development towards becoming a broad energy company. DC is also active in short-term gas trading and provides energy market services. DC was founded in 2004 and is based in Aarhus, Denmark, with 284 employees.

A new ship holding company has been formed through a joint venture agreement between physical energy trader Gunvor Group, ship management company Oceangold Tankers and investor Maas Capital.The three partners hold an equal share in the new company, ClearOcean Tankers, which has been incorporated in Cyprus.The new joint venture company has entered into shipbuilding contracts for six vessels from South Korean shipyards, including four MR2 product tankers from STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. and two LR2 product tankers from Daehan Shipbuilding Co.

Energy trader Mercuria Group has agreed to provide a $1 billion trade finance facility to Greece's Aegean Marine Petroleum Network, the marine fuel logistics and supplies company said on Thursday, sending Aegean's stock up more than 150 percent.New York-listed Aegean Marine underwent a major leadership change this year after losses prompted an activist investor revolt to sever ties with the company founder, shipping and oil tycoon Dimitris Melissanidis.Aegean announced a $200 million write-off in early June after a new chairman, Donald Moore, was appointed in May to lead a strategic review.Shares in Aegean were up 127 percent at $1.43 as of 1359 GMT, having risen as high as $1.53.Swiss-based Mercuria will initially inject at least $30 million in cash, Aegean Marine said.Aegean Marine also

Vitol's 2015 revenue fell 38 percent to $168 billion in "challenging" market conditions, the commodity trader said on Tuesday.   The world's largest independent energy trader's sharp fall in revenue came despite traded volumes of crude oil and products rising 13 percent to 303 million tonnes.   "Whilst the market structure favours a physical trader, the absolute price levels and market volatility are causes for caution," Ian Taylor, president and CEO of Vitol said.   (Reporting by Sarah McFarlane, editing by Louise Heavens)

The world’s biggest specialized vessel to import liquefied natural gas (LNG)  is scheduled to be operational in November to contribute to Turkey's energy supply security, Bloomberg reported. The MOL FSRU Challenger, as long as the Eiffel Tower, is expected to arrive from South Korea this month and start by year-end. Last winter, a cold snap gripped the whole region, including Iran, where Turkey gets some of its gas from. That meant the nation couldn’t get hold of enough fuel to meet its booming gas demand and the grid asked private power plants to reduce fuel demand by as much as 90 percent. A first floating storage and regasification unit, the Neptune, arrived in December to complement two onshore terminals at Aliağa and Marmara Ereğlisi.

Global prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will face pressure from oversupply over the next two to three years, particularly in warmer months, top energy trader Vitol said on Wednesday. New LNG production in countries such as the United States and Cameroon that is set to start up in the coming months means pressure on the rapidly expanding market will be particularly felt in 2019, Pablo Galante Escobar, who heads Vitol's LNG trading, told the IP Week conference. "We still see over the next two to three years a market that is structurally oversupplied, particularly in summer, Escobar said.