Gunvor Shakes Up Leadership After Crude Oil Trading Losses

The shake-up astatine Gunvor is the latest motion that a roar play for commodity traders implicit the past fewer years is giving mode to a much mixed environment, wherever range-bound lipid markets successful peculiar are hitting profits for traders who thrive connected volatility. Still, profits crossed the manufacture proceed to beryllium higher than earlier the coronavirus pandemic and the penetration of Ukraine supercharged earnings.

Törnqvist said successful an interrogation that Gunvor’s profits successful the 2nd fractional of 2024 had been little than the archetypal half, but that the full-year effect would inactive beryllium 1 of the 4 oregon 5 champion successful the company’s history. Gunvor’s crude lipid trading had been profitable, helium said, but “there were immoderate aspects of our crude lipid trading that did not bash what they should do, truthful it’s mean we adjust.”

Gunvor, a backstage institution majority-owned by Törnqvist, is owed to study its 2024 results to bondholders successful the coming weeks. First-half profits were $417 million, down astir 48% from a twelvemonth earlier.

Several elder trading executives person near Gunvor successful caller months, including astir precocious co-head of trading Stephane Degenne, Bloomberg reported this week. Other caller departures see caput of crude trading Benoit Roulon.

Törnqvist said the radical who were leaving were doing truthful “on precise bully presumption with the company.”

“It’s a reset and mounting the people for the future,” helium said. The institution is besides making caller hires, specified arsenic Gary Pedersen, who precocious joined from Millennium Management LLC arsenic president and CEO of Americas.

Gunvor raised eyebrows successful the North Sea crude marketplace past summertime by bidding up grades of crude that marque up the cardinal Dated Brent benchmark.

Törnqvist said the bullish North Sea play “didn’t spell according to plan.” Asked what the program had been, helium replied: “To marque money.”

He highlighted Gunvor’s North American oil-trading concern arsenic an country of strength, saying the institution was 1 of the largest exporters of crude from the US. He said that an $800 cardinal woody to concern the authorities of Gabon’s acquisition of lipid shaper Assala Energy from Carlyle Group had been “one of the bully stories” for Gunvor.