Indian Oil Corporation has signed a five-year deal with Trafigura to import 2.5 million tonnes of LNG in a USD 1.3 billion-1.4 billion agreement, Reuters cited chairman A S Sahney as saying on Wednesday.
Trafigura is facing a loss of up to $1.1 billion in Mongolia, linked in part to suspected fraud by its own employees. According to Bloomberg, the company’s staff manipulated payments while concealing a mountain of overdue debts, a malpractice that continued for years without raising any red flags.
Equatorial Guinea says it held talks with Trafigura Group for the possibility of $2 billion in financing from the commodity trader to support development of the nation’s oil and gas sector.
Giant trading houses and trading desks of integrated oil majors have taken advantage of the extreme volatility in oil and energy prices to make a killing in the markets.
Last month, Singapore-based oil and commodities trading powerhouse Trafigura Group posted the smallest profit since 2020 after oil price volatility dropped to multi-year lows.
Europe’s oil majors are feeling the heat, too, with both BP and Shell Plc warning of impending profit declines at their trading divisions.