Global oil trading firm Vitol and US fuel distributor Sunoco have taken delivery of the first petrol cargo imported into the US from Nigeria’s Dangote refinery, Reuters reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Vitol is said to have purchased the 320,000-barrel cargo from Geneva-based Mocoh Oil and sold most of it to […]
State-owned GAIL (India) Limited has signed a long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales and purchase agreement with Vitol Asia Pte. Ltd. GAIL said in a media release that the deal for the supply of approximately 1 million tonnes per annum of LNG for 10 years resulted from a binding Term Sheet signed in January 2024.
In contrast to Vitol, which trades with Venezuela and doesn’t operate any assets there, those other companies produce oil and gas in the country and are winding down operations ahead of the expiry of licenses issued by the US Treasury. The deadline for all the companies, including Vitol, to cease operating is May 27.
Vitol will acquire interests in certain assets owned by Eni, including including the Baleine project in Cote d’Ivoire and Congo LNG project in the Republic of Congo, for $1.65 billion.
“This transaction is in line with Eni’s strategy aimed at optimizing upstream activities, through a rebalancing of the portfolio that provides for the early valorization of exploration discoveries through a reduction of participations in them (the so-called dual exploration model)”, Italy’s state-backed Eni said in an online statement Wednesday.
The August announcement stated that Vitol had agreed to acquire Noble Resources Trading Limited for an purchase price equivalent to $0.63 per share on a debt free / cash free basis subject to customary conditions precedent.
Vitol Group and Glencore Plc. are considering acquiring New Fortress Energy Inc.’s Jamaican LNG assets, according to people familiar with the matter.
Vitol is eyeing the metals market with global petroleum demand expected to peak in a decade, signaled Russell Hardy, CEO of Vitol, the world’s largest independent energy trader.
Indian refiners are expecting tankers of Venezuelan crude from Vitol, media reported on Tuesday, after Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) purchased 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude for November delivery. This is part of a broader trend, as India continues to increase imports from Venezuela after the U.S. Treasury allowed transactions under specific conditions despite ongoing sanctions targeting President Nicolas Maduro’s regime.
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.